Games in the Sydney basin this weekend will have to deal with high temperatures, with current forecasts suggesting the games are at very real risk of heat stress rules being applied.
Of particular concern are three games, one in Wollongong on Saturday afternoon, and two on Sunday, with the afternoon game being played at Parramatta, and a twilight game at Belmore.
The forecast temperature for the 3pm Saturday afternoon kick-off between the St George Illawarra Dragons and South Sydney Rabbitohs in Wollongong is set to be 31 degrees.
Of particular concern is the fact the temperature won't drop more than a single degree according to the forecast until after fulltime. Humidity is forecast to be under 50 per cent, with the sea breeze also potentially helping things along.
Sunday afternoon in the west of Sydney will be a different ball game though, with the Parramatta Eels set to host the Wests Tigers in a derby at 4pm.
The currently forecast temperature at kick-off is 34 degrees celsius, with that not set to drop below 32 degrees until after fulltime. Humidity is forecast to be low, but with sun set not until closer to 7pm, there will be no respite for the players.
The twilight game, set to kick-off at 6:15pm at Belmore, will see temperatures still hovering around 32 degrees at kick-off, but with a fading sun, things should get easier for the players throughout the second half, with temperatures set to drop to 27 degrees by fulltime.
The NRL have not made comment on any measures for the heat this weekend, however, in 2023 there was a similarly warm weekend, and it was revealed at the time that the NRL now rely on a Kestrel Heat Stress Tracker which takes into account a number of different factors before spitting out a reading.
โThe device sits on a tripod, and it records a range of different readings. Once the reading is taken from the tracker, there are four numbers that come out of it," the NRL's head of football said in March, 2023.
The tracker reads air temperature, globe temperature, humidity and wind speed to spit out a final verdict on whether it's safe to play.
Those readings end in four separate colours, with a heat stress index of below 150 meaning a green colour code and no measures to be taken, a heat stress index of 150 to 200 meaning drinks breaks and a yellow colour code, a 200 to 250 heat stress index leading to extended halftime and more drinks breaks for a red colour code, and anything over 250 resulting in the suspension of play and a black colour code.
It's unclear exactly how warm it would need to be to be in the black zone, but there is a likelihood of some extended breaks being utilised over the weekend in at the very least the Sunday afternoon game in Parramatta.
The black zone - for a suspension of play - has never been implemented since the NRL began using the stress index device.
