NSW Deputy Premier John Barilaro has given the strongest indication yet that the state government will work hand in glove with the NRL so it can restart its season as soon as possible.

As the NRL’s newly formed innovation committee prepares for a critical meeting on Thursday about contingency plans to reboot the premiership, Mr Barilaro boldly claimed rugby league can “start the process of recovery” for the nation.

He has already spoken to Premier Gladys Berejiklian about working closely with ARL Commission chairman Peter V’landys and club chief executives about restarting play, which stopped last month because of the COVID-19 crisis.

“The NRL is the tonic we need to get through this virus,” he told Channel Nine’s Chris O’Keefe. “It’s easy to say why we can’t do things. We’ll take advice from the health experts, but the reality is that we’ve seen in racing, and in other sectors like construction, that cases have come down …