How The Heat Will Affect The NRL Grand Final

Since the first grand final in 1908, the 30-degree mark has been breached only four times on rugby league’s final day: 1987, 2005, 2013 and 2014.

On Sunday it’ll be five.

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At the launch of the new Powerade ION4, Dr Kenneth Graham, Principal Scientist, NSW Institute of Sport said, “What we expect to see from the NRL grand final on Sunday is a temperature of about 32 degrees and a reasonable amount of humidity because of the water coming up from the grass.

"That creates a fair stressful environment for an athlete – especially the players in the first two games at 1:45pm and 3:45pm."

While the historic first all-Queensland final will certainly be uncomfortable, it will struggle to top last year’s temps, which peaked at 33.9 degrees at Sydney Olympic Park at 3.30pm, making it the hottest grand final day in rugby league history. The previous record of 33.4 degrees was in 2013.

Take that, climate change skeptics. (The move west in 1999 from Allianz stadium has also contributed).

Regardless of the peak temperature, the conditions will add an extra layer of intrigue to a game which already features nine of the first choice 17 players for this year’s victorious Queensland State of Origin side – including the top point scorer (Johnathan Thurston) and Player of the Series (Corey Parker).

“These players who are used to playing in winter will be experiencing a lot more heat on their body,” says Dr Graham. “The body is going to try to adapt by sending more blood flow to the skin, to lose that heat, and also sweat and with that obviously lose extra fluid,” he said.

“This is where you’ll see swinging arms come into play where a player’s blood sugar drops, leading to a loss of coordination, technique and fine motor control. And, with that errors in game play.”

While the Cowboys would seem to have a natural advantage, consider this: the last six sides to reach the Grand Final without a bye-week have come away empty handed.

The important thing in dealing with the heat, according to Dr Graham, is preparation. “It’s not just replacing fluids when the game has started, it’s planning it 24-48 prior to the game, getting your hydration levels up,” he says. “It’s like getting in a car and topping up the radiator before a trip – you want to put the fluid in and then continue to check it on the trip.”