Just to keep the commentary fair and equitable there has been one from each of the major codes - Collingwood coach Nathan Buckley for the AFL and the NRL's most esteemed current mentor Wayne Bennett now in charge of the South Sydney Rabbitohs.

What should be emphasised at the start is that neither man had broken the law nor even the governmental temporarily enforced Covid-19 rules and regulations.

ELSEWHERE IN SPORT

Their crime has been to fall outside the further guidelines imposed or agreed to by their respective sports in order to continue delivering their product at the highest level.

There was every reason for both bodies to do this.

Not only was the current season at stake and the already compromised livelihoods of players, coaches and service staff under further threat - but perhaps even more so the future.

So doing that little bit more at either the request of the authorities or by their own decision was an easy call.

It became that much harder to deliver upon as hubs became a reality - and eventually so few of them.

Double down on that because of the resultant expectation that families accompany players, coaches, support and administrative staff should be able to join them in those bubbles so too to becoming subject to all those extra obligations.

It's easier to excuse partners and children - even if you don't believe that they should be there. Having decided to travel to a hub their lives are hardly normal.

Apartment life without the regular home environment is doubly restrictive - exotic perhaps for a week or two - then either boring or totally challenging.

But they or their partners having lobbied for the opportunity, they are then stuck with the rules. Beauty salons and theme parks are not part of this gig this time around.

Bennett and Buckley are quite different. They - like it or not - are leaders and role models and ought to be compliance officers.

Why both were either slack enough not to be familiar with that which was expected of them or worse still indifferent to complying with it is a fraction mind-boggling.

It's not as though they don't have time on their hands to read up on things.

But it's just a side-effect of the price the two sports have had to pay to return to the field - and in many ways to be treated somewhat differently to the rest of the Australian population.

It's doubtful that within this conundrum they will be the last to infringe.

Around the world many sports are doing their best to return to some form of competition - even if not in anything like within a normal environment.

They will similarly have agreed to restrictions to get something happening.

For most who have succeeded so far this has largely been by forgoing live crowds.

This too is a price to pay and one which has significant consequences for now and the future. Even with contingency plans to manage without it gate revenue will be sorely missed by many events - hospitality sales even more so.

But losing the connection with fans if the interim arrangements are forced to continue for too long would be even more significant.

In this regards it's interesting that several AFL clubs have achieved or are close to record membership levels.

But there's a but there.

A big proportion will already have paid up before March and some of the remainder will have felt a nostalgic desire or obligation to allocate some of their discretionary funds in a government payment supported environment to their footy team.

Things will be different next time around.

World golf has succeeded in getting its PGA championship on the park.

Not everyone in the player cohort is there but there's a quality field.

Spectators are barred but can watch it from their homes - which many more than usual are in a position to do given they have nowhere else to go.

There will be a certain fascination whether tennis can achieve the same come September 1's US Open.

Australians Ash Barty and Nick Kyrgios have indicated they will be no-shows but there's still three weeks for others to join them.

Unlike similar past dilemmas this is no boycott decision - it's for once just good old-fashioned common-sense.