Adelaide Crows premiership player Shaun Rehn prepares for Cyclone Alfred near Byron Bay

Adelaide Crows premiership player Shaun Rehn has bunkered down on his northern NSW farm as he prepares for the cyclone to make landfall.

Dual Adelaide Crows premiership ruckman Shaun Rehn is hunkering down on his cattle and macadamia nut farm outside Byron Bay, bracing for Cyclone Alfred to strike.

Heavy winds and rain are lashing his 30ha farm, in hills about 10km south west of the northern NSW town, as he and wife Kerry wait for Alfred to impact within hours.

Nearby supermarkets closed their doors two days ago, local roads are blocked and the couple have relied on a generator to power their home for a few days, after electricity was cut.

Footballer Shaun Rehn (c) celebrating after the Adelaide Crows defeated North Melbourne in the 1998 AFL Grand Final.

Mr Rehn, an integral part of the Crows 1997 and 1998 flags, is mostly concerned for friends in low-lying areas who are at risk of enormous storm surges.

“If the storm surge comes to fruition and, everything they say, if it’s the perfect storm, it could be really bad,” he told The Advertiser.

“Everyone’s fingers are crossed that it won’t reach that but they’re preparing for the worst-case scenario.”

Mr Rehn, who has lived at his Newrybar property for 18 years, has prepared for extreme winds by taking outdoor furniture inside and tying down loose items.

“There’s a lot of power lines that have been taken by trees. There’s a lot of trees down already. Last night we had some pretty high winds throughout the night and a lot of rain.

“They’re expecting obviously the next 24 hours it’s going to be higher winds, more rain and high tides.”

Trees threatening powerlines in the Byron Bay Hinterland as a result of heavy rain brought by Cyclone Alfred . Picture: NewsWire / Glenn Campbell

Son Thomas, 28, is working with nearby Bangalow fire authorities, clearing debris and chopping fallen trees after extreme weather on Thursday night.

“We’ve had trees down and we’ve had power lines down but it hasn’t reached the peaks for us yet,” Mr Rehn said late on Friday morning.

“I guess for us it’s a wait and see what happens. So we could be just getting these steady winds and strong gusts from the ocean and the rain could go for either two or three days. It all depends on what happens with the tracking of the cyclone.”

Originally published as Adelaide Crows premiership player Shaun Rehn prepares for Cyclone Alfred near Byron Bay