Townsville Cyclones Gridiron: Stranded footy team find shelter at a turtle rehab centre

Townsville gridiron players didn’t let floods dampen their victory celebrations and partied on into the night at a sea turtle rehab after getting stranded in Bowen.

Townsville Cyclones player Cory Gardiner (left image) and his team of 19 were stranded in Bowen from the floods. Picture: Supplied.

• Fury over woeful state of Bruce Hwy after flood closures

Townsville gridiron players didn’t let floods dampen their victory celebrations and partied on into the night at a sea turtle rehab after getting stranded in Bowen.

The Townsville Cyclones Gridiron team were in high spirits after winning their game 40 to nil in Gladstone on Saturday but on the bus trip home the next day, they found themselves stranded in Bowen due to floodwaters over the Bruce Highway.

Cyclones captain Kyle Reynolds said it was by “pure luck” the 19-strong team managed to find a place to stay for the night after putting the call out for help on Facebook.

“The kindness of strangers prevailed,” he said.

“We got taken in by Tracey and Tony, who run a sea turtle rehab out of their home.

“So we were able to have a few drinks out back and celebrate our win.

“Some of us got in the spa, and there was a rousing rendition of the national anthem performed in the middle of the monsoonal deluge at one point.”

Reynolds said the team got word that the Bruce Hwy was open early on Monday morning, and they jumped back in the bus and made it home safe.

It comes after hundreds of people were stranded in Bowen Sunday night due to flooding, many forced to camp at the local Police and Community Youth Club.

Originally published as Townsville Cyclones Gridiron: Stranded footy team find shelter at a turtle rehab centre