Play was abandoned after Daylesford captain Josh Cowan broke his leg midway through the first quarter and an ambulance took 90 minutes to get the the ground and treat him.

READ MORE SPORT:

Daylesford president Carson White told The Courier that Cowan broke multiple bones in his lower leg.

Hepburn was leading the game at the time of the incident 1.2 (8) to no score from Daylesford.

READ AMBULANCE VICTORIA'S RESPONSE: Ambulance Victoria says delayed response time to broken leg was a 'mistake'

The two clubs had put a plan in place to try and find a result. If play was able to be started by 4:30pm, the first quarter would be finished and the remaining three quarters would be shortened to finish on time.

As it happened, by the time the ambulance stabalised and removed Cowan from the ground, the 4:30pm deadline could not be met.

The game was declared a draw and the four points were split between the two sides.

Cowan was formerly on Geelong's AFL list from 2010-2017, playing 16 games. He crossed to his junior club Daylesford from Geelong Football League powerhouse St Mary's ahead of the 2021 season.

White said it was a disappointing end to a successful day finally returning to play footy and netball.

"It was a great day, there was a lot of positives, a lot of upsides for both clubs today, there was certainly a lot of positives, it was just that significant incident just marred today," he said.

"Unfortunate for Josh, first game back at the club. The worst part about today is for him and the family and what they're dealing with right now.

"At the end of the day footy's footy, but from our club point of view, it's just thinking of him and where he's at."

Hepburn president Jason Dooley told The Courier it wasn't ideal to end the game that way but it was in the best interests of Cowan.

"It was a pretty disappointing way to finish the day, it was a beautiful day for footy. After such a long lay off to be able to go out there and only play half of one quarter was pretty disappointing," he said.

"At the same time the welfare of the player is everyone's highest priority. It is what it is and we move on."

If you are seeing this message you are a loyal digital subscriber to The Courier, as we made this story available only to subscribers. Thank you very much for your support and allowing us to continue telling Ballarat's story. We appreciate your support of journalism in our great city.

Have you signed up to The Courier's variety of news emails? You can register below and make sure you are up to date with everything that's happening in Ballarat.