'Coronavirus could cost each Super League club £1m'

Super League captains at the launch event in January

And he issued a dire warning that a "core number of clubs" may not survive without government support. In an interview with Hull Live, he says the prospect of the season resuming early next month was "over optimistic".

"My guess is most clubs will have at least a million pound hole by the end of the season," said Hudgell. "Hence the call for government assistance.

Given the suggestions this virus won’t peak until June, I think we are being over optimistic to suggest we will be back and functioning in early April, although no decisions have been made. What we have to do is hope for the best but plan for the worst case scenario.

"It is not about individual clubs going bust, it is about a core number of clubs going bust to the point that the competition isn’t viable. It is a game wide problem and people need to understand that."

He said the season will be concluded in one form and while contingencies were being drawn up, says the first priority is ensuring clubs survive the period without any matches, which provide a lot of their income.