Clubs throughout New South Wales, Victoria and The Northern Territory have been financially hit hard by the crisis, with lockdowns and restrictions imploding club revenue.

As a result, the NRL will give each club around AUD$100,000 (£53,000/$72,000/€61,500) for every game lost due to relocations or matches played without crowds.

"The game has fought hard this year to keep going amidst the challenges of the pandemic," NRL chief executive Andrew Abdo told Australian Associated Press.

"Both the NRL and clubs have been hurt significantly by not being able to have crowds and relocating the competition to Queensland.

"The NRL has had growth in commercial revenues and has also reduced costs significantly.

"Therefore, the commission approved some further financial support for the clubs arising from the impact of COVID-19 on the financial ecosystem.

"Particularly for clubs who have had to relocate and not play in front of their home crowds."

This year fans have not seen a live game in Sydney since June, in contrast to Queensland who has only been impacted by the loss of crowds for two weekends.

Although virtually saving the 2021 season, the competitions relocation to Queensland has added AUD$30 million (£16 million/$22 million/€18 million) to expenses as well as another AUD$30 million in lost revenue.

Now both the NRL and clubs will continue to reap the losses during the finals series, with an estimated AUD$1.5 million (£800,000/$1.1 million/€925,000) lost from the semi-final matches last weekend with the matches in Mackay able to host only 12,000 fans, compared to 50,000 at other venues.