The NRL is considering pushing back the start of all of Saturday's pre-season NRL challenges in a bid to deal with NSW's drastic heat.
Temperatures are expected to reach 38 degrees in western Sydney and central NSW on Saturday, sparking fears for players involved in NRL trial matches.
The high-profile Charity Shield clash between St George Illawarra and South Sydney in Mudgee in the state's central-west is one of the matches in question.
That match is scheduled for a 3:30pm start with the heat likely to be at its peak then.
Penrith had been in contact with the NRL for several months trying to get a 6pm kick off for their World Club Challenge clash with St Helens.
But AAP has been told the league informed clubs involved in the trials start times may be moved back by an hour.
That is unlikely to please clubs who were hoping the matches would be played at night to ensure greater safety of all players.
The change should, however, take some sting out of the day's heat.
Brisbane's pre-season match against North Queensland on the Sunshine Coast will also start later than the scheduled 7:10pm local start time, in a bid to ensure the three Saturday games do not overlap.
It comes after the NRL had earlier this week allowed for Penrith and St Helens to have a five-man bench and an extra two interchanges to combat the heat for their World Club Challenge match.
It's believed the Panthers had long been pressing for even greater squad sizes beyond 18 for the game, particularly given a number of their players had been limited to a six-week pre-season due to the World Cup.
St George Illawarra and South Sydney will at least have some reprieve in Mudgee, with all matches outside the World Club Challenge allowing for 26-man squads and unlimited interchanges.
The NRL will also invoke its heat policy if required in all games with the ability to turn the game into four 20-minute quarters and more trainers allowed on the field to hydrate players.
Traditionally trial matches have predominantly been played at night, with as many as six being played at the same time.
But the introduction of the NRL's pre-season challenge and matches falling under a TV rights deal have significantly changed the schedule.
As many as six matches will kick off in daylight hours this weekend with none of the games overlapping to allow maximum TV exposure.
It is not the first time the February heat has impacted pre-season games.
There were fears over three night matches played in Sydney in 2017, with a clash between Penrith and Canterbury at Belmore pushed back.
