Cyclone Alfred's landfall southeast Queensland this week could create headaches for both the NRL and AFL heading into the opening games of the season.
While the NRL launched their season in Las Vegas on Sunday, the first weekend in Australia features the other six games of Round 1, and Friday night's blockbuster heads to Brisbane as the Dolphins clash with the South Sydney Rabbitohs.
The first prime time Friday game of the year, the clash carries extra significance as Wayne Bennett commences his second stint at the Rabbitohs against the club he has spent the last two years at.
But the game is now under a question mark, with Cyclone Alfred - currently a Category 2 system in the Coral Sea - set to make landfall on either Thursday or Friday somewhere between Bundaberg and Northern New South Wales per the Bureau of Meteorology.
The forecast of cyclones can vary wildly, and so there is no guarantee of the location or timeline the system will make landfall, but the weather event will bring strong winds potentially above 100 kilometres per hour, and heavy rain with the potential for extreme flash flooding.
Brisbane is not well equipped to deal with a cyclone, which could see damage to areas of the state capital, while flooding has been an issue in previous years as major weather events hit the city.
Predictions suggest as much as 600mm of rain could fall in some areas.
A tropical cyclone has not neared Brisbane since 1990, while Cyclone Wanda was the cause of the historic 1974 floods in Brisbane.
With the Queensland government advising for residents to take precautions and prepare for the cyclone, and Brisbane City Council terminating all ferry services on the Brisbane river from Monday night, there could be question marks lingering over the game in Brisbane on Friday evening.
Suncorp Stadium has been left underwater on two previous occasions, once in 2022, and once in 2011, which caused the postponement of a Kangaroos-Kiwis Test match.
The NRL are yet to reveal any emergency plans for Friday night's blockbuster, although there are hopes that the game will not need to be shuffled or postponed.
The AFL, who open their season in Brisbane on Thursday night, have confirmed they won't make a call until as late as Thursday afternoon.
"The deadline will be when we know actually what is going to happen. At the moment, there are forecasts and those forecasts have changed," AFL boss Andrew Dillon said.
"When we're absolutely 100 per cent confident about what's going to happen, we'll make a call then.
"Weather patterns are unpredictable. The health and safety of our players and fans will be the number one priority in every decision we make."
The Dolphins and Rabbitohs are set to kick-off at 8 pm (AEST) on Friday, while other games across the weekend could also be hit by weather, with rain expected up and down the eastern seaboard of Australia.
