The lightning bolt hit a tree about 30 meters north of the oval, and close to parked cars.
John Mckinnon, a committee member of St Joseph’s club said he had “never seen anything like it” in over 40 years of involvement in community football.
He said the parents of one player were in a car meters away from where the lightning hit a gum tree and got a bad fright.
Mckinnon said the first two quarters of the game, which started at 2.10pm, were played in bright sunshine.
No one was concerned when, at the quarter time, St Joseph’s life member Ray Hoadley warned the umpires of a thunderstorm forecast for later in the game.
loading
“He said, ‘there’s going to be some bad weather coming through’, and everyone goes, ‘yeah no worries Ray’. But he was checking the weather system on his phone and he was true to his word from him, ”Mckinnon said.
Mckinnon said during the third quarter, big black clouds blew in from the east, the temperature dropped about five degrees and “we didn’t get rain, we just got hail. It lasted for two or three minutes.”
“The lightning and thunder came and it was pretty horrific. All the players just ran off the ground.”
Mckinnon said the umpires suspended the game after an initial burst of thunder and lightning but the players came back onto the field after a few minutes.
“There was more lightning and thunder and they said no, it was too dangerous and came back off the field.”
That was when lightning hit the tree on the north or You-Yangs side, about 30 meters from the oval.
No one was injured and no property was damaged but the game was called off.
The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights.