Brisbane v Geelong Opening Round clash in doubt due to cyclone

With Tropical Cyclone Alfred set to lash Brisbane this week, the opening game on the AFL season is in doubt. Will the Lions-Cats blockbuster go ahead?

Brisbane is liaising with the AFL about contingency plans as Tropical Cyclone Alfred prepares to hurl destructive 130km/h winds at the city on Thursday during the Lions’ season opener against Geelong.

The Lions and AFL have been in contact as the state’s disaster management committee assesses options for the week should the anticipated forecast eventuate.

Four days out from the game the forecast is four to 40mm of rain but the wind gusts are the issue for the city and the AFL game.

The Bureau of Meteorology says in its forecast: “Destructive wind gusts exceeding 130km/h possible depending on the movement and development of Tropical Cycle Alfred”.

There is still time for that storm to weaken but in a worst possible case scenario the AFL will have to consider other options.

Brisbane’s flag unfurling is slated to open the AFL season. Picture: Albert Perez/AFL Photos via Getty Images

The Lions and Geelong both have round 3 byes, so the AFL could potentially reschedule the game until then.

The AFL told the Herald Sun on Sunday: “We will continue to monitor the situation over the coming days and be in step with Government advice.”

But it would be far from ideal given the league’s Thursday contest is the season opener and a centrepiece of the Opening Round which is all based out of Victoria.

The Lions had planned to unfurl the 2024 premiership flag in front of a packed Gabba crowd, with Brisbane champions including Jonathan Brown and Simon Black to participate.

Brisbane premiership star Joe Daniher will not be at the event due to a prior booking after his sudden retirement last year.

It comes as premiership coach Chris Fagan revealed the club’s disastrous injury toll from the round 8 clash against Gold Coast and a heart-to-heart with club chiefs convinced him not to walk away from coaching last year.

In a new Fox Footy documentary Dancing on Thin Ice, to be broadcast on Tuesday, he reveals how close he was to taking time away from the club last year.

Brisbane’s premiership victory over Sydney was celebrated widely in part because of Fagan’s story as a 63-year-old father figure who had held firm despite so many Lions near-misses.

Battling as the senior coach as a series of issues combined to test his mental resilience, he considered a break from coaching leading into that May clash against Gold Coast.

The AFL’s second Opening Round is slated to begin in Brisbane. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos via Getty Images

His Lions were 2-5 with Tom Doedee and Keidean Coleman already out with ACL reconstructions, and he had been reduced to tears after his appearance at the Human Rights Commission meeting.

The Lions beat the Suns in that contest but Lincoln McCarthy and Darcy Gardiner both went down with ACL tears.

He tells Brown in the Fox Footy documentary at that stage he knew he couldn’t take time off.

“Yeah, there was a bit going on in my life but by about the halfway mark of the second quarter when we had lost two blokes with ACLs any thoughts of having some time off had gone out of mind. I thought this is not the right time to do it,” he said.

“It was going through my mind. We hadn’t started the season well, I had had the Human Rights Commission thing going on with Hawthorn, a little bit of a health scare (with a potential cancer diagnosis).

“Sometimes you wake up and think is it all worth it, putting yourself under that pressure.

I am glad I didn’t do it. Swanny and our president Andrew Wellington, Phil Smyth, Danny Daly lobbed around to my place the next day and had a bit of a talk with me.

“It’s funny in life when you share your thoughts and problems with someone suddenly they don’t feel as bad and I knew I had the support of the footy club.

That’s sort of all I needed. So I said I am not stopping boys, I will let you know if I need a break, so that’s how it worked out.”