Three Dolphins top-liners opt to SKIP re-arranged Rabbitohs clash as Kristian Woolf is left with selection headache due to Cyclone Alfred
Kristian Woolf is reportedly set to be without multiple Dolphins stars for Friday night’s re-arranged fixture against the South Sydney Rabbitohs, with a trio of players opting to ‘skip’ the match due to Cyclone Alfred.
The category two storm, which is set to make land on parts of southern Queensland on Thursday evening, has forced the NRL to relocate the Dolphins fixture against the Rabbitohs which had been due to be played on Friday at the Suncorp Stadium.
The NRL has since relocated the game to the CommBank Stadium, with the fixture now due to be played as a Rabbitohs home match.
According to The Sydney Morning Herald, senior players Kodi Niorima, Mark Nicholls and Kenny Bromwich have all pulled out of the clash against the Souths.
The trio did not fly with the squad who left for New South Wales on Wednesday evening.
It comes after Dolphins Nikorima’s partner, Bree, labelled the decision to relocate the match, instead of cancel it ‘disgusting’.
In a now-deleted post on Instagram, the mother of two, who is also six months pregnant, wrote: ‘Because a game of football is THAT IMPORTANT.
‘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.
Woolf is due to select his team on Friday.
According to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, the Cyclone will bring gusts of 120km/h, heavy rainfall and is also threatening flash flooding.
The Dolphins have urged fans to ‘take care’ and ‘stay safe’ during the storm, while chief executive Terry Reader confirmed that accommodation had been arranged in Brisbane so that family members and relatives of the players could be together in a secure environment. Welfare teams from the club would also be supporting those opting not to go into the accommodation.
‘We looked at every contingency that we could – playing possibly on Sunday, or even on the Sunshine Coast or the Gold Coast … we looked at many things to try to make it happen,” Reader said.
‘Because of the broadcast agreement and the way things work, thankfully, we were able to come up with something to move it.
‘Everyone’s apprehensive about what’s happening … and we’re really cautious about what’s happening.’
More to follow…
