The mayor of Tamworth has rolled out the welcome mat for the Warriors to self-quarantine in the city, saying they'll simply shut the gates to their training facility.
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The NRL is set to take a major step in its bold bid to resume the competition next month with a federal exemption expected to be granted for the Warriors to fly in from New Zealand.
It's believed the the approval will be rubber stamped by the Australian Border Force in the coming days.
League officials are also seeking an exemption from the NSW state government for the club to train together while isolated from the public in northern NSW.
Tamworth mayor Col Murray anticipated there would be some pushback from the community over the NRL club being allowed to stay in the city and train at Scully Park.
But he guaranteed the players and staff won't be exposed to the residents for their entire two-week quarantine period.
"They'll be in quarantine. It's quite simply a matter of shutting the gate and it's locked up," Murray told AAP on Tuesday.
"It's pretty a neat facility for the circumstances.
"You'll always find some people will react to anything and you get a lot of free advice on social media.
"But if you go to the main street and ask the first hundred people that walk past, I think you'd get a pretty strong endorsement," Murray said.
New Zealand's level-4 lockdown was downgraded on Tuesday and the Warriors are expected to leave Auckland and arrive in time to resume training on Monday.
Murray, who was recently tested for the coronavirus, said he had no reservations about hosting the Warriors given New Zealand's management of the COVID-19 crisis.
He also noted the close relationship shared by both countries.
"We enjoy working with the Kiwis at most times, other than Bledisloe Cup ... I think it's a great thing.
"Tamworth's a very sporting town and I think the average punter in the street will be hugely supportive of it."
After plans for the Warriors to stay in Lennox Head on the NSW north coast fell through, NRL officials looked at isolating the squad 45 minutes outside Tamworth in Lake Keepit.
Then Scully Park, in the heart of Australia's country music capital, was proposed.
The Warriors' accommodation was just an 80-metre walk from the ground, which has hosted NRL regular season games.
It was scheduled to host a fixture between the Wests Tigers and Canberra on May 9.
"There's a lot of facilities in that tight precinct and quite a good quarantine situation, I would suggest, to host an international team," Murray said.
Australian Associated Press
