Dolphins stars are bracing themselves to be forced apart from their loved ones during Cyclone Alfred as the NRL‘s decision to move their Friday night match to Sydney looks set to leave them stranded away from home.
The clash with South Sydney was originally scheduled to be played at Brisbane‘s Suncorp Stadium, but was switched due to Cyclone Alfred.
That decision was branded ‘disgusting’ by Bree Nikorima, the wife of Dolphins star Kodi, and saw top AFL commentator Gerard Whateley blast the NRL for lacking ‘human decency’ for choosing to change the venue rather than postpone the match.
Dolphins stars Nikorima, Mark Nicholls and Kenny Bromwich elected to pull out of the clash so they could be with their families in Brisbane when the cyclone hits.
Now the Brisbane-based team is desperately trying to find a way of getting the players home before the storm’s expected landfall on Saturday, which will be extremely difficult given all flights into Brisbane have been cancelled until the effects of the cyclone pass.
The Dolphins had no solution to the problem at the time of writing, according to News Corp.
Dolphins stars like Hamiso Tabuai-Fidow (pictured with his NRLW star girlfriend Jaime Chapman) are likely to be left stranded in Sydney from Friday night
The Redcliffe stars (Felise Kaufusi is pictured with wife Bek) will struggle to return before Cyclone Alfred makes landfall with all flights into Brisbane cancelled
The Brisbane Broncos managed to return home after playing the Roosters in Sydney on Friday night thanks partly to Queensland Premier David Crisafulli giving them special permission to fly into Toowoomba, west of the state capital.
They then took a bus to Brisbane after their charter flight landed.
However, conditions are worsening in Queensland, making the situation even tougher for the Dolphins.
Bree Nikorima claimed that the game against the Rabbitohs should have been cancelled when she wrote an angry, since-deleted post on Instagram.
‘Because a game of football is THAT IMPORTANT,’ she said.
‘Leaving the families behind to ride out the direct line of cyclone alone. Some with no support at all.
‘I’m six months pregnant with two young kids in an area that can flood, disgusting.’
‘Do better @nrl,’ she added, publishing a ‘vomit-face’ emoji.
Kodi Nikorima pulled out of the match against Souths after it was switched to Sydney – and his wife Bree (pictured together) slammed the NRL’s decision
Nikorima’s teammate Mark Nicholls (pictured) also chose to stay in Brisbane with his family, as did Kenny Bromwich
In a statement issued on Tuesday, NRL chiefs said the game was moved due safety concerns.
‘The NRL has made the decision today to allow for the appropriate changes to be implemented and acknowledges and thanks both the Dolphins and the Rabbitohs for their approach and co-operation,’ the NRL said in a statement on Tuesday.
‘The NRL said the safety of players, fans and the community were the highest priority when considering the venue change.’
In contrast, the AFL cancelled two games that were supposed to be played in Queensland: Brisbane vs Geelong at the Gabba, and the Suns vs Essendon on the Gold Coast.
Those matches will now be rescheduled.
On Friday, the cyclone began to impact southeast Queensland and northern NSW as the category two system approached the Australian coast despite stalling again overnight.
Tens of thousands of homes are without power after wind gusts destroyed trees while heavy rain has triggered flooding, forcing people to flee their homes.
‘It is slowly continuing towards the coast. Overnight we saw it packed a punch,’ Queensland Premier David Crisafulli told ABC News.
The wild weather will only get worse, with Alfred set to cross the coast near Brisbane between Noosa and Beenleigh on Saturday likely as a category two storm.
‘What we need to do is to hope for the best, but prepare for the worst. We absolutely need to prepare for the worst,’ Prime Minister Anthony Albanese told reporters on Friday.
Alfred was initially set to arrive on Thursday night but stalled in recent days, adding extra anxiety to millions of people counting down to the first cyclone to hit the southeast since 1974.
‘We should not think that slower means better,’ Mr Albanese said of Alfred’s meandering approach.
‘As it is over warmer waters (it has) the potential to increase the intensity of it.’
Alfred slowed down again overnight but its impacts have begun to be felt with damaging wind gusts across southeast Queensland and northern NSW.
NSW’s Cape Byron has copped winds up to 120km/h while Gold Coast airport recorded 100km/h gusts.
This article was originally published by a www.dailymail.co.uk . Read the Original article here. .