‘Absolutely cooked’: Country footy game abandoned as polar blast sweeps region

A ‘relentless’ icy polar blast and rain falling sideways led to a country footy match being abandoned when some players and officials showed signs of hypothermia.

Country footy players and umpires did not get out of the sheds for the second half of a game as wet and frigid conditions left some players and officials with hypothermia symptoms.

Conditions in Ballarat and the Victorian Central Highlands are brisk in the height of winter, but were even more so on Saturday.

Bounce-down at Newlyn, 20kms from Ballarat, was at 2.30pm on Saturday.

But barely an hour later, some players and umpires were showing early symptoms of hypothermia and the Newlyn versus Springbank fixture was sensibly ended early.

Elsewhere in Victoria, conditions were wet at Powelltown on Saturday as well. Picture: Corbin Sutherland / Facebook

Central Highlands Football League president Doug Hobson said he had checked with both clubs on Sunday and no one had been injured.

The temperature at Ballarat on Saturday afternoon was about eight degrees, but with 40km/h winds it felt near or below freezing.

The rain was coming down sideways as pies were being put in the warmer and boots were being laced, and Mr Dobson saw the forecast at one point displaying a “feels like” temperature of -3.4°.

The region got about 15mm of rain.

Newlyn got the premiership points after the game was called off. Picture: iStock

“Yesterday was just one of those icy polar blasts,” Mr Hobson told NewsWire.

“We do get some of those days. It was just relentless.”

When the Newlyn and Springbank players went in at half time, Newlyn were ahead 2.11 (23) over Springbank 1.9 (9).

“A few players got a bit chilly… It was a very sensible decision to call the game off,” the league president said.

“It was called off before there were any ill effects with anyone who has a pre-existing condition which can’t be rectified.”

Newlyn senior coach Jarrett Giampaolo said the weather made the outing “one of the worst games that I’ve been involved in”.

“It was a shocking day – the oval was absolutely cooked and you wouldn’t have been able to find too many blades of grass left on there,” Mr Giampaolo told the Herald Sun.

League rules dictate the halftime result stands, should the game be abandoned, handing Newlyn four premiership points.