St Kilda GM of Football Performance Jamie Cox has conceded Sunday’s NAB Challenge cancellation due to torrential rain is a setback for the Saints’ season preparations.

Due to persistent rain in the Mackay region courtesy of Cyclone Winston, officials called the match off against the Brisbane Lions, deeming the playing surface as unsafe.

With Round 1 less than three weeks away and a host of senior players requiring some much needed playing time, Cox said the cancellation was frustrating but the Saints will quickly turn their attention to facing Melbourne next Sunday in the clubs final game of the NAB Challenge series.

“As frustrating as it is, we’ll dust ourselves off and get on a plane tonight. Preparations still continue now for NAB 3,” Cox told saints.com.au on Sunday night.

“It does put us back a little bit; we’d rather have played the game from a workload sense. But we’ll make it up, and be fresh to hit the Demons in NAB 3.

“There’s a lot of people that put a lot of work into getting the game ready up here, so it’s as disappointing for them as much as it is disappointing for us because we needed a game.”

With in excess of 200mm of rain falling across the weekend, including another deluge two hours prior to the scheduled bounce, Cox suggested common sense prevailed in the end as the conditions presented a safety concern, especially for a pre-season fixture.

“I think the right decision was made. Unfortunately conditions became unsafe with the amazing amount of rain this games had to cope with the last few days – since we’ve been here it’s barely stopped,” Cox said.

“Unfortunately it just became too dangerous today, when thinking about the heavy rate of collisions that can come from conditions like this.”