The first semi-finals of the Upper Murray Football Netball league at Bullioh on Saturday were affected by an incident which closed the Murray Valley Highway and held up traffic from Corryong for close to an hour.

A tree fell across the highway around 8am causing traffic to stop in both directions. A group of young men travelling towards Corryong then set about clearing the obstruction with a chainsaw but the tree rolled back onto the operator, pinning his legs to the ground. Emergency services were notified and police and ambulances from Corryong and Tallangatta attended the scene.

A man in his 20s was treated at the scene before being taken to Albury Wodonga Health in a stable condition with lower body injuries which were not considered serious.

The delay caused the Under 11s and Under 14s football matches to be played at the same time on the Bullioh ground to enable the reserves and seniors games to start on time. However, the netball times were put back by an hour.