FORECAST temperatures of close to 40 degrees has led to Sydney's AAMI Community Series match against Brisbane on Thursday being pushed back by three hours.
The two sides were scheduled to play their practice game at 4.10pm AEDT at Blacktown International Sports Park, but the match will now start at 7.10pm AEDT due to the forecast weather.
The Bureau of Meteorology is forecasting temperatures of 39 degrees Celsius in Sydney's west on Thursday and 37 in the east.
In addition to the delayed start, the quarter-time and three-quarter time breaks will be extended by two minutes each, while the half-time break will be four minutes longer than normal. Each club will also be permitted two additional water carriers.
The delayed start means the match will directly clash with Greater Western Sydney's game against Gold Coast in Canberra, which is forecast to have a maximum temperature of 34 on Thursday.
"We have worked closely with both the teams and our broadcast partner FOX Sports to play the practice match at a later start time to mitigate the heat," said Laura Kane, the AFL's General Manager of Football.
"I would like to thank FOX Sports for accommodating the request and look forward to fans coming to watch this last hit out before the Opening Round of the Toyota AFL Premiership season."
Carlton and Melbourne are facing potentially warm conditions for their 6.40pm AEDT game at Ikon Park on Wednesday, with the BoM forecasting a top temperature in Melbourne of 38 degrees before a cool change and possible thunderstorms in the evening.
