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AFLW game delayed by snake lying on field in western Sydney

September 16, 2023

A snake catcher picks up a snake at the Blacktown International Sportspark
A snake catcher picks up a snake before an AFLW match between GWS Giants and Richmond Tigers at Blacktown International Sportspark. Photograph: Mark Metcalfe/Getty Images

By Jo Khan

An AFLW match between Greater Western Sydney and Richmond in Blacktown was delayed after a snake was spotted sunning itself in the grass.

The red-bellied black snake appeared to be taking advantage of the hot weather that parts of Australia’s south-east have been experiencing.

The Giants and the Tigers’ round three match was pushed back by about 30 minutes while officials waited for a snake handler to arrive at Blacktown International Sportspark.

When the snake handler did arrive on the scene the snake was identified as a small red-bellied black snake – a venomous species found across eastern Australia.

The head of women’s football at GWS, Briana Harvey, said the snake was in one of the far pockets.

“There’s a little red-bellied black snake on the ground at the moment, just in one of the far pockets … obviously for the safety of everyone here we need just to halt the game for the moment,” she told Fox Footy.

“It is 34 degrees here and we are surrounded by bushland, so I guess it’s not that surprising.”

Fans and media were bemused by the very Australian occurrence, and it’s not the only unusual scene involving native wildlife to have unfolded at the venue.

In October last year during a WBBL match Sydney Thunder and Hobart Hurricanes players were sent ducking for cover as the local spur-winged plovers swooped them.

The birds were believed to have laid their nest in the middle of the ground and were fiercely protecting their chicks.

The AFLW game eventually started at 1.35pm, after the snake was caught, with the Giants looking for their first win of the season and to keep their hopes of making finals alive.

But they will have to wait at least another week for that after the Tigers defeated them by 19 points in sweltering conditions in western Sydney.

The visiting team won 7.11 (53) to GWS’s 5.4 (34) for their second win of the 2023 season to keep them in the Top 8.