Roy Ward - The Age
Aaron Booth drove into Melbourne on Sunday ready to put his all into a trial with the Melbourne Storm but he flew home to Brisbane on Tuesday with his dream on hold.
The 24-year-old hooker made a big impression on the Storm during pre-season - winning the award at the club's annual I Don't Quit camp for his resilience and endurance during three sleepless days of exhaustive physical and mental training.
With Cameron Smith, Brandon Smith and Harry Grant all playing the hooker role, Booth wasn't needed leading into the season but was invited back when Grant was finalising his move to Wests Tigers for this season.
Booth packed his belongings and began driving to Melbourne on Saturday while his partner was in the process of transferring her job to join him.
But after completing a weights session on Monday, Booth and his teammates began hearing that the NRL season would be on hold and he realised his dream would have the same status.
The Storm had 12 players rush back to Queensland on Tuesday ahead of the border closure with the team being placed on leave for at least the next four weeks under instructions to stay fit but expect a long stint on the sidelines.
