The NRL and AFL Grand Finals could be played in record heat this year with the Bureau of Meteorology predicting unseasonably warm temperatures this weekend.
Sydney is expected to have maximum temperatures soar into the mid-30s on Sunday which would make it the hottest NRL Grand Final since observations began at Sydney Olympic Park.
Further south, temperatures are expected to reach the mid-20s on Saturday making it the fifth hottest AFL Grand Final played in Melbourne.
The Penrith Panthers and Brisbane Broncos will have some relief though, as temperatures are likely to drop for the 7:30pm kick-off while the Collingwood Magpies and Brisbane Lions will be battling it out in the heat from 2:30pm.
The predicted maximum for Sydney is 35C on Sunday which would make it hotter than the 34.7C recorded during the day of the 2014 Grand Final between Canterbury-Bankstown and the Rabbitohs.
The last time Grand Final day temperatures surpassed 30C was when the Broncos lost to the North Queensland Cowboys in 2015.
Last year it reached just 19C when the Panthers won the competition against the Parramatta Eels.
BOM senior meteorologist Angus Hines said Sydney’s temperatures were being caused by “hot, gusty north-westerly winds flowing into the Sydney basin”.
“By kick-off at 7:30pm temperatures are still expected to remain in the high 20s and decrease steadily throughout the game, though overhead conditions will remain mostly clear, with just a few patches of cloud,” he said.
“Earlier games, including the NRLW Grand Final, will be played during the peak heat of the day, with temperatures expected to nudge 35C.
“Those hot north-westerly airstreams are forecast to make way for a brief, cool southerly change early on Monday in time for the NSW public holiday, before a more significant cooler change is due to arrive mid next week.”
(Sky News)
