NRL

The 24-year-old flyer last year signed a A$1.8m two-year deal with the Queensland Rugby Union and Rugby Australia that is due to commence in 2021.

However, the financial downfall that has come with the coronavirus pandemic has thrown that signing into a realm of uncertainty, leading Vunivalu to express some concern over his future.

“If my contract is still there then I’m happy to go on with it, but if not then we’ll see where we go from there,” he said last week.

The child of one of the Bulldogs players attends a school in the Sutherland Shire where a staff member has tested positive for Covid-19.

The primary school has closed until 25 June and students have been told to self-isolate.

The Bulldogs and Roosters game will now be played on Monday night at Bankwest Stadium due to the potential biosecurity problem.

Sunday's later game between St George Illawarra and Cronulla at Campbelltown Stadium has been brought forward to the earlier timeslot.

The Panthers made amends for blowing a double-digit lead against Newcastle last week to run in five tries tonight - including a Matt Burton double.

Burton, playing in just his third NRL game, also had a hand in another try as he bounced back from the disappointment of missing five field goals on the same ground against the Knights.

The rookie had plenty of help from his teammates, particularly tireless front-rower James Fisher-Harris, who finished with a game-high 239 metres.

He also added four offloads and 31 tackles with no misses to his stat line.

The Sharks beat the North Queensland Cowboys 26-16 in Townsville on Saturday night.

But the result did not come without some worrying pre-match moments for the visitors, who scored five tries to three on their way to victory.

Six Sharks players, including Kiwis halfback Shaun Johnson, failed pre-game temperature checks, putting their participation in the game in doubt.

All six were eventually cleared to play after passing a subsequent second test.

Earlier on Saturday, Parramatta scored a controversial 19-16 win over Manly.

A week after holding the St George Illawarra Dragons scoreless, the Warriors didn't fire a shot as they failed to score a single point for the second time this season.

Nothing seemed to go the Warriors' way, with all of the Panthers' five tries coming off mistakes or penalties. 

On top of that, the Panthers dominated possession and the ruck battle with Kiwis international James Fisher-Harris leading the way with a career-high 239 run metres and 44 tackles. 

It was the Raiders' third win of the season and the third time in a row they have beaten the Storm at AAMI Park, coming on the back of victories in week one of last year's finals and round 22 of 2019.

Ricky Stuart's side showed no signs of rustiness following the enforced lay-off, with English duo George Williams and Josh Hodgson in sublime form and big man Josh Papalii producing a stormer in his 200th NRL game.

The book of feuds was re-opened two months and two days after the scheduled round three clash had to be postponed and both sides blew out the cobwebs with a series of powerful hits.

Latrell Mitchell's defection to the Rabbitohs generated the headlines for months both during the pre-season and the COVID-19 pandemic, but the game itself failed to live up to the niggle fans are used to seeing between the game's oldest rivals.

Rugby league chief Peter V'landys was met with widespread disbelief when he announced in early April that the NRL would resume on May 28 but his ambition will pay off when a season suspended in late March resumes at Lang Park.

That ambition has been aided in large part by Australia's success in containing COVID-19 due to early travel restrictions, social distancing measures and widespread testing.

It was announced on Thursday that due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, Origin would be staged on November 4, 11 and 18 - three consecutive Wednesdays - when it's hoped crowds can attend.

It's the first time Origin has been played so late in the year, with the showpiece series usually kicking off in late May or early June. Venues are yet to be confirmed.

Walters told NRL.com he thinks moving the series down the calendar, free from the interruption of club football, is "excellent from our point of view" as the Maroons look to snap NSW's two-year winning run.

The Auckland club has been asking the Australian Rugby League Commission for extra support, having lost three players to long-term injuries since arriving in Australia.

The Warriors need relief in the middle third of the field in particular, with first-choice front-rower Leeson Ah Mau all but sidelined for the season with a ruptured pectoral muscle, while lock Jazz Tevaga will miss the opening rounds with a knee injury.