IT was always unlikely that Warrington Wolves’ season would pass without a brush with Covid-19.

And so it has come to pass, with news of six first-team players being forced into self-isolation after a Wakefield Trinity player returned a positive test following the game between the two on Sunday.

Shorn of so many key players – the forward pack has been decimated by this news – it would have been easy to request a postponement of the clash with Hull FC tonight.

Indeed, it perhaps would have been logical from a performance point of view – although Wire have a large and capable squad, some likely replacements will not have played a competitive game for at least seven months.

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Nobody would have blamed them, but that is not the attitude The Wire have pinned themselves to in these fraught and unpredictable times.

Ever since the restart, head coach Steve Price has drummed home the mantra that he and his squad will do whatever it takes to get this season finished.

Warrington Guardian:

Steve Price has often spoken about his side having a duty to do whatever it takes to finish the 2020 season. Picture by Mike Boden

With that in mind, self-interest has been set aside and Warrington Wolves will take the field at Headingley later on.

For that stance, they deserve a heap of credit.

Yes, there's an increased likelihood of it costing them four Super League points – next week’s game against Castleford Tigers also falls within the self-isolation period – but the bigger picture has to be taken into account.

The competition was already precariously placed in terms of the financial future, with the broadcast deal with Sky Sports up for renegotiation next year.

Completing this season despite the immense challenges the pandemic brings is seen as crucial to getting an extended deal on at least equal – perhaps better – terms.

If the season had to be scrapped, the very existence of rugby league as a professional sport in this country is at stake.

Wakefield deserve credit too – they also had self-isolation issues ahead of Sunday’s game but they bit down on their gumshields and got on with the job at hand.

The sacrifices these players are making in even stepping out there are remarkable and you have to take your hat off to all of them.

Still, though, there is a hulking great elephant in the room.

The season must be completed, but how do we do it when cases are springing up with increasing regularity?

Do the protocols laid down by the RFL need to be stricter? Is it time to move into more bio-secure “bubbles” as teams in the NRL have?

It would require even more sacrifice from those already putting themselves on the line for the sport to continue, but surely now it must be the way forward.

The show must go on, but there is only so long Super League can muddle through in this current fashion.