The NRL insists it has the budget to withstand any COVID-19 crisis as decisions loom on the fate of the State of Origin series finale and immediate future of the home-and-away season.
Tuesday's ARL Commission meeting shapes as the most important since the competition resumed in May last year, with Sydney in the midst of its first lockdown in 12 months.
League bosses must decide whether to move Origin out of Sydney immediately, with Newcastle a front-running option if game three is to remain in NSW.
Beyond that, both Gold Coast and Melbourne could shape as options with 18 new coronavirus cases recorded in the NSW capital on Monday.
More immediately Project Apollo must consider what to do with this week's NRL games in Sydney, which will either be played in front of no crowds or moved out of the city.
While players remain in a bubble, moving 10 teams out of the city altogether remains an option if they are unable to negotiate border crossings with Queensland, Victoria and the ACT.
"This is a greater challenge than last year because it's so much more contagious," V'landys told AAP.
"I used to use the figures that a player had a one-in-10,000 chances in catching it last year for a player, that's not the case now.
"We're told it's airborne and that makes it a much higher risk.
"The lockdown helps us though, because with less people moving around, there's less risk for the players to catch the virus."
Last year's season shutdown and empty stadiums threatened to cripple the sport, with V'landys at the time warning of financially catastrophic impacts on the game.
That prompted widespread redundancies and player pay cuts, resulting in a six per cent drop in the 2021 and 2022 salary caps.
But the ARLC chairman insists clubs and the game will no face the same stressed this time around.
"We're in a much better spot and we did allow for it in our budgets, we allowed a provision in case things went pear-shaped," V'landys told AAP.
"We'll probably use every bit of those provisions now. You plan for the worst.
"Having no crowds will be a big hit on us and it will certainly be a big hit having no crowds at games."
"Financially we've planned for it so we're not in the same dire straits as we were last year."
Meanwhile, any decision made is likely to have flow-on effects to the upcoming weeks of NSW Cup, given NRL top-30 players cannot leave the bubble.
The reserve grade competition was cancelled in 2020, prompting many to go a season without football.
"It's not just the blokes going back and forth, but the part timers who are playing there every week," Dragons half Adam Clune said.
"It's obviously pretty devastating news if you take into account last year".
