An ambulance was called during the second half of the game and Nicola Simmons, who plays centre back for the Sydney’s APIA Leichhardt Tigers FC, was taken to Orange hospital, where she remained for testing on Tuesday.

Even though the game, which APIA was winning 8-2 at the time, was called off as a result of Ms Simmons’ affliction, the first grade fixture between the Tigers and hosts Western NSW Mariners FC was played afterwards, although rescheduling the later clash was discussed prior to kick-off.

According to the Bereau of Meteorology the temperature never rose above four degrees Celsius on Sunday, however Football NSW doesn’t appear to have a cold-weather policy in place, as it and most sporting associations do for extreme heat.

The Central Western Daily attempted to contact Football NSW for confirmation of that on Tuesday, however APIA Leichhardt women’s football manager Matteo Maiorana says he’s not aware of a cold-weather policy.

He also said, after a number of requests following Sunday’s games, his club will be contacting Football NSW in a bid to clarify whether safety measures are in place or ensure they’re established, especially considering a number of other Sydney-based clubs are scheduled to play in the western region in the back end of the 2018 season.

“Nicola was in a pretty bad way, she [was still] in hospital at Orange [on Tuesday] and they [hadn’t] given her a definite time frame to be discharged yet. We have flagged the issue with Football NSW and we’re hopeful a cold-weather policy might be looked at as a result, we have them for the heat after all,” Mr Maiorana said.

“Both clubs played in the same conditions but our players are coming from Sydney and they’re not used to that kind of cold, a lot of them would never have played in conditions like that and are also used to playing on (an) artificial (surface) as well.”

Mr Maiorana said the impact of the freezing conditions wasn’t limited to his club’s senior ranks.

“We had quite a lot of players throughout our age groups, particularly in the juniors, that really struggled with the cold,” he said.

“Especially the goalkeepers, who aren’t moving around at all really. Our under-14 goalkeeper came off at half-time and was sat in the car with the heater on to warm up, and didn’t come back on. It can be pretty scary in those conditions, when players start struggling with the cold.

“We’re certainly not blaming anyone here, it’s a tough situation, but we are hopeful Football NSW will look at some cold weather protocols as a result of this, because I know some Sydney clubs have already asked about the weather out that way.”