'Super League may go towards the end of November'

In a video address on the Saints website, he says clubs want to fulfill as many of their fixtures as they can.

There will be no rugby league games until at least April 3 but many expect the postponement to last much longer, especially after football's decision today to extend their blackout to April 30.

England are set to face Australia in an Ashes series, running on consecutive weekends from October 31 - which is looking increasingly under threat.

"The three week close-down... is really just to work out the rescheduling," said McManus. "Common sense prevails that it's going to be a longer close-down than that. The season may be deferred, it may go into later October or towards November or the end of November.

"But we want to fulfill as many fixtures as we can, and for Super League, the Grand Final and the Challenge Cup to take place.

"There's a vacuum to deal with in the weeks ahead. We will be back on the field, hopefully not too far in the future."