Few thought we'd be mentioning the tennis star and the Canberra Raiders in the same breath this year, but coronavirus is making the world wacky.

Both are taking important stands - Kyrgios calling out selfish tennis players flouting coronavirus restrictions, and the Raiders for refusing to bow to player payment demands or agent pressure.

Let's kick things off inside the boardroom at the Raiders' multi-million dollar headquarters in Braddon.

A six-figure transfer fee and a contract worth more than half a million per year? Worth it.

Worth it, because Englishman Bateman wasted little time in becoming a star in the NRL. It took little more than a fortnight before he became adored by fans who thought "this is the guy we've been missing".

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The mongrel, the winning attitude, the way he dragged his teammates across the finish line with him, the NRL second rower of the year award. The icing on the cake was Canberra's first grand final appearance in 25 years.

The 26-year-old has been sidelined with a shoulder injury all season and, for the most part, the Raiders have struggled to live up to expectations without him. Make of that what you will.

But breaking the bank to give Bateman an upgrade after one season in the NRL? Worth it? Hardly.

The Raiders have made the right call in ending negotiations with Bateman and controversial player manager Isaac Moses.

Canberra have taken a stand. The club is refusing to bow to the demands of player agents who coach Ricky Stuart says "agitate clubs and manipulate negotiations to suit them and them only".

Bateman will miss the Raiders' clash with the St George Illawarra Dragons at Canberra Stadium on Friday.

Of course there is concern the fact Bateman is heading for the exit will be a distraction, but recent history suggests it could galvanise the Green Machine and spark the turnaround they've been searching for.

The club gave Bateman permission to test his value on the open market days out from the NRL's restart in May - what followed was an inspiring win over the Melbourne Storm.

Now they have held firm and refused to cough up more cash to keep Bateman at the club, an area in which the club has form.

Gold Coast Titans prop Shannon Boyd is contemplating an early retirement following injury battles and concern the game has passed him by.

Little more than two years ago Boyd signed a four-year deal reportedly to the tune of $2.4 million to move to the glitter strip. He had played for Australia but Canberra refused to stand in his way. Coach Ricky Stuart wasn't going to try to compete with "astronomical" figures.

"The one thing I want to do here as a club now is I want players to be here for all the right reasons, not just for getting the most money," Stuart said as Boyd and Junior Paulo chased big-money deals elsewhere in 2018.

Raiders great Gary Belcher lashed the way Bateman and Moses have handled the decision to leave Canberra at the end of the season.

"It frustrates me and I know it's closer to me because it's the Canberra Raiders but it just stinks of greed here," Belcher said on the Sportsday radio show.

"He's tossed up 'I've got to do what's best for my family,' his daughter's back home in England. Well if he's got to do what's best for his family then he should be back home in England, really, that's what's best.

"He might not get paid the same money, but he can still get paid a hell of a lot more than the average worker."

Super League clubs have taken a hit during the coronavirus pandemic with Wigan's four-year offer to Bateman reportedly about $500,000 per season.

Bateman could reportedly earn close to the same $2 million figure over three years should he stay in the NRL and join Canterbury, while St George Illawarra are monitoring the situation.

"They're apparently his two options, Canterbury is a good one if he wants to stay in the NRL, you'll earn more money but he's not doing the right thing," Belcher said.

"I believe you've got a contract and the Raiders signed him on good faith hoping he would be able to play in the NRL and be up to scratch. He turned out to be outstanding, Dally M second rower of the year last year, but they took a risk. He was paid $600,000 a year, that's great money.

"You've got your manager in your ear telling you that you can get more and all of a sudden ... you're not doing the right thing. There's a better way to go about this."

A better way to go about things, much like Kyrgios has after the tennis world was sent into meltdown last week when several players returned positive coronavirus tests after taking part Novak Djokovic's Adria Tour event.

So often an easy target for criticism, Kyrgios has emerged as the voice of reason in the tennis world after what he dubbed a "boneheaded" decision to host a tournament led to Djokovic, his wife and Grigor Dimitrov testing positive to COVID-19.

The Canberra star doubled down and slammed Sascha Zverev this week when footage emerged of the German breaching his own self-isolation guidelines in a Monaco club. "Pissing me off ... this tennis world is pissing me off. How selfish can you all get?" Kyrgios said.

Sport needs voices of reason, which is why both Kyrgios and the Raiders should be lauded for taking a stand.