THE Newcastle Jets' start to the 2022-23 A-League season has been washed out.
The F3 derby against the Mariners was postponed on Saturday night after the surface was ruled unplayable.
The major weather system which drenched the eastern seaboard left Central Coast Stadium resembling a lake.
Referee Alireza Faghani inspected the pitch at 5.20pm and made a second assessment at 5.35pm.
Finally at 5.46 Mariners chief executive Shaun Mielekamp confirmed the game had been washed out.
"We gave it every opportunity to get the game on," Mariners chief executive Shaun Mielekamp said. "Looking out at the pitch, the boys look like they could play water polo rather than a game of football.
"We will work with the league, it will get rescheduled similar to the COVID matches that were rescheduled last year. We will find a gap in the draw."
Asked if it was possible to play the game Sunday, Mielekamp said: "No."
The Jets host Perth Glory at McDonald Jones Stadium next Saturday at 5pm.
A crowd of 5019, including a bay of Jets supporters, had braved the conditions at Central Coast Stadium.
After the game was called, the Jets squad went across the field in the rain and thanked the Jets fans for their attendance.
It was the second F3 derby to be washed out and third game to be postponed because of wet weather involving the Jets.
A similar situation occurred in round 26 of the 2009-10 season when Branko Culina was in charge of Newcastle. A ferocious storm left the pitch underwater.
The previous week, the Jets' clash with North Queensland Fury in Townsville was postponed due to tropical cyclone Olga.
On Saturday, the players had just started their warm-up at about 4pm when the heavens opened.
Initially, lightning forced the players off the ground. The thunderstorm was followed by a torrential downpour. And it didn't stop.
Puddles started to form on the surface by 4.30pm. The game was initially pushed back 30 minutes.
The rain continued to fall. Fans in the stand were greeted by a medley of rain-themed songs on the PA starting with Dragon hit 'Rain'. Rihanna chimed in with "Umbrella" and Creedence Clearwater Revival belted out "Have you ever seen the rain".
They had run out of songs by the time Jets coach Arthur Papas came out of the tunnel at 5.06pm, six minutes after scheduled kick-off time in full wet-weather gear, walked five metres onto the pitch, shook his head, turned and walked back up the tunnell.
Finally at 5.46 Mariners chief executive Shaun Mielekamp confirmed the game had been washed out.
