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Sydney chairman Andrew Pridham has joined some of the game’s greats to slam the standard of the SCG’s playing surface as “unacceptable” and a “sandpit”.
Pridham relayed his concerns to AFL boss Andrew Dillon in the hours after Friday night’s game between the Swans and the Western Bulldogs, which was marred by players from both sides slipping over and having little confidence in keeping their feet.
“I’m extremely disappointed with the standard of the turf. It’s unacceptable, and we’re in discussions with Venues NSW about it,” Pridham told this masthead.
“We’re hopeful we can work together collaboratively to resolve it.”
The Swans have long been frustrated with stadium management over the quality of the playing surface, particularly the cricket wicket, which becomes slippery when wet.
But concerns are now focused on the grass at the Paddington End of the ground, which has not recovered after the staging of an Andrea Bocelli concert on April 3.
That area of the field, on the northern end of the ground, is partly shielded from direct sunlight by the Bradman Stand during the winter months.
The SCG curator Adam Lewis told 3AW the ground had been fine when the Swans trained during the week.
“There were no concerns at all,” Lewis said. “The boys spoke to the grounds manager before the match, and there were no concerns. The Swans have trained on the field this week, and there haven’t been any concerns at all.
“We just think it’s the heavy dew that has been coming in on the last couple of nights, keeping the top of that surface wetter than we would like.”
Dillon was on the phone first thing Saturday morning seeking an explanation for the substandard surface, speaking with chair of Venues NSW David Gallop, an organisation that oversees the SCG Trust. The AFL leases the ground from the trust.
Italian opera singer Andrea Bocelli performed in Sydney in April. Credit: AP
The AFL will also send a turf expert to Sydney this week to ensure another surface debacle does not unfold for the Swans’ coming clash against Fremantle on Sunday, July 6.
One heart-stopping moment happened during the third term when Bulldog star Bailey Williams’s legs buckled awkwardly on the shifting ground as he chased after the ball.
Another glaring example happened when speedster Nick Blakey slipped over as he tried to take off on a customary run at a crucial stage of the last quarter.
The Bulldogs won a tense contest by nine points to mark captain Marcus Bontempelli’s 250th game.
Brownlow medallist and geelong premiership star Jimmy Bartel slammed the surface as unacceptable.
Bailey Williams struggles to keep his feet.Credit: Channel Seven
“I’ve genuinely got concern,” he told 3AW after the match. “When I saw Bailey Williams charging out for the footy and went to change direction and (slipped), that had ACL written all over it.
“As we know, it would have to take a star to get hurt to do anything.
“It shouldn’t matter who it is but could you only imagine of Isaac Heeney or Chad Warner or (Sam) Darcy or Bont (Marcus Bontempelli) went down with an injury? What would we be saying?
“There’s no way you could tick that off (the surface). Guys have got studded footwear in and if they decided to change direction, they were gone.”
Marcus Bontempelli of the Bulldogs celebrates a goal in game 250.Credit: Getty Images
Bartel said the clubs and the AFL “got lucky” that no player suffered a serious injury.
Triple premiership Lion Jonathan Brown questioned whether the Friday night match should have been allowed to go ahead.
“This is as bad as I have seen in years,” Brown told Fox Footy. “I remember playing on the early (Marvel Stadium) surface, and that was a sandpit, but this is shocking.
“It’s disgraceful management to let the ground get to this. It’s a shame.”
Venues NSW has been contacted for comment.
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