Four New Zealand Warriors players are flying home after Australian authorities failed to grant their families travel exemptions to join them, the National Rugby League club said Wednesday. Warriors chief executive chief executive Cameron George said the club fully supported the decision by David Fusitu'a, Ken Maumalo, Agnatius Paasi and King Vuniyayawa. He said they had made a huge sacrifice being away from their families since early May, when they travelled to Australia with the Warriors as the NRL restarted after a virus-enforced hiatus. "When we travelled to Australia we promised the players everything possible in our control would be done to secure travel exemptions for their families to join them there," George said. "Ultimately the decision lies with government agencies to approve the applications the NRL made on our behalf. There hasn't been any sign of a favourable result." He said the quartet would fly out on July 27 and undergo two weeks of mandatory quarantine, while a fifth player, Leivaha Pulu, returned to New Zealand two weeks ago. The Warriors are the only non-Australian club in the NRL and their decision to leave home was pivotal in ensuring a full 16-team season could resume as the competition became one of the first in world sport to resume after a lengthy COVID-19 shutdown. Coronavirus restrictions mean only Australian citizens and permanent residents can enter the country but the Warriors were granted an exemption by the government. ns/dm/dh