NRL

The 35-year-old and his family will leave their Sydney hotel quarantine on Thursday night, just before the Roosters take on Melbourne Storm at the SCG.

After completing a medical examination he will have his first training session with the Roosters at the weekend. He has been using gym equipment while in the two weeks quarantine and although he has had minor knee surgery, he is expected to hit the ground running after his recent stint with Toronto in the Super League.

Williams, counting down his final days in mandatory quarantine in a Sydney apartment before joining his Roosters teammates, said it was hard to believe he was on the verge of an NRL comeback.

The 35-year-old former All Blacks and Roosters premiership player has signed a short-term NRL deal.

His return to the NRL comes after a stint with Toronto was cut short because of the pandemic that has forced the Wolfpack to withdraw from the remainder of the 2020 Super League season.

The Eels are level on points with the Melbourne Storm, just a point behind the table-topping Penrith Panthers, who the Warriors play this Friday.

The Titans earlier beat the North Queensland Cowboys 30-10 on the Gold Coast to now be the top ranked side in the state.

They're up to 13th, just ahead of the Cowboys and the Brisbane Broncos.

Photo NRL 

Another potential candidate is no longer in the mix for the job, with interim coach Todd Payten turning down an offer from the club to take the role on a permanent basis.

The embattled club has been searching for a fulltime replacement since they sacked Stephen Kearney six weeks ago, with playmaker Kodi Nikorima among those who had called for the process to be wrapped up as soon as possible.

But, in the wake of Payten's revelation he had turned down the job, chief executive Cameron George said they were committed to taking their time to find the right person.

It's the Auckland club's first National Rugby League win in four games and comes after four players returned to New Zealand this week to be with their families, ending their involvement in the competition.

Peta Hiku bagged a brace of tries while Tohu Harris scored the match winner.

The Warriors trailed by six points at half-time but two pieces of brilliance from Hiku on the left edge pushed the visitors ahead 20-14 after an hour.

Payten could not pinpoint why the Warriors were "soft" against a Shaun Johnson-led Sharks side that scored three tries in the first 15 minutes.

The match was a virtual training run for the Johnson, who scored one try and set up two more, while the middle forwards rolled far too easily through their Warriors counterparts.

The win would have put the Sharks back inside the top eight ahead of the Rabbitohs but for a late try to the Warriors in the dying seconds.

Adding to the Broncos' woes was a horrific leg injury suffered by back-rower Corey Oates late in the game. Play was stopped for several minutes while Oates was stretchered from the field and taken straight to hospital.

The nine-try blowout margin easily eclipsed the Tigers' previous biggest win over the Broncos - a 34-6 semi-final rout on route to their 2005 premiership.

Meanwhile second placed Melbourne scored seven tries in a 42-6 win over Gold Coast.

The confirmed departures of Ken Maumalo, David Fusitu'a, Agnatius Paasi and King Vuniyayawa on 27 July, and the exit last week of forward Leivaha Pulu, leaves the Warriors five players down heading into the their last nine games.

Warriors chief executive Cameron George said getting replacement loan players from other clubs was becoming more difficult.

"It's getting tougher and tougher as the year goes on, as other clubs get injuries, to try to find those loan players" George said.

The players gave the National Rugby League until July 19th to get exemptions from Australian government agencies for their families to join them in New South Wales.

If the NRL fail to get the exemptions - the club says it will allow the four players considering leaving to head home on Monday after Sunday's game against the Sharks.

However, RNZ understands there are no available flights until July 27th and players will have to stay and play against the Roosters on July 25th before they can get out of Australia.

Hunt was influential at hooker, setting up a try and booting Manly into submission by finding the open spaces of Netstrata Jubilee Stadium with kicks before the last tackle.

The Sea Eagles struck first through Joel Thompson but St George Illawarra ran in six unanswered tries - four in the second half - to secure their third victory of the year.

Without injured stars Tom Trbojevic and Dylan Walker and the suspended Addin Fonua-Blake, Manly appeared lost at times.