Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir wants AFL to intervene ahead of SCG clash, unhappy with surface

Watching from the other side of the country, Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir didn’t like what we saw at the SCG knowing his team has to play there soon.

Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir has real concern over the playing surface at the SCG, saying it was unsafe to play on ahead of his team’s clash there this Sunday

Longmuir was in the stands in Sydney last Friday night when the Western Bulldogs beat the Swans. He didn’t like what he saw.

Visibly, up to a third of the turf on the SCG looked below AFL standard and players continued to lose their feet.

At one stage, the Bulldogs’ Bailey Williams got caught in the turf and there were fears he’d injured his knee. He left the ground but returned. But the risk of serious injury seemed real.

There is plenty of rain heading Sydney’s way during this week as well.

Longmuir joined the chorus of football people slamming the surface.

“I watched the game on Friday night, and we’ll be led by the AFL, but the moment my brain goes to, ‘that’s unsafe for players’, I have a concern,” he said.

“And I went there on Friday night. I thought at times it was unsafe to play on.

The SCG playing surface has come under scrutiny as players slipped at one particular end of the ground.

“I think the Bailey Williams one, we just can’t put players out there and risk their safety if the ground’s not right.

“And I thought it was a bit unsafe the other night, especially down the left hand side.

“I don’t make those decisions. Fully understand that both teams are playing on the same surface.

“So if the AFL deem it safe to play, we’ll play, and I won’t speak another moment of it. But I thought it was unsafe the other night.”

Longmuir said the AFL approached the Dockers to look at the ground but as yet there had been no discussions about changing venues.

He said he expected Fremantle and the AFL to go back and forth during the week ahead of Sunday’s clash.

The AFL has called on turf experts to try and address the issue, which Swans coach, Dean Cox, also said had been a concern for some time.

Longmuir will also keep an eye on dual Brownlow medallist, Nat Fyfe during the week.

Despite a close game against St Kilda, which the Dockers won by 12 points, the Dockers did not activate their sub, Fyfe.

With the Saints dominating clearances, he would have been handy.

"There's been some challenges with the surface..." 😬

Dean Cox was asked post-game on the SCG's turf in tonight's #AFLSwansDogs clash.

MORE 👉 https://t.co/9PtAfvU1w6pic.twitter.com/0z4CpCTEIb

— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) June 27, 2025

But Longmuir said Fyfe told the coaching staff during the third term that his calf didn’t feel right, so they opted to leave him on the pine.

“Yeah, it came up to the box early in the third quarter that he had some calf awareness,” Longmuir said.

“He tried to warm up at half-time and he did some run-throughs and then he felt some awareness in his calf.

“So not sure whether we could have put him on if we had an injury, but since we didn’t have an injury and didn’t have any players really flagging, the safe option was to just leave him out of the game.

“It’s a bit of a concern, of course. But we’ll see how he pulls up tomorrow, get it scanned if we need to, and see where it takes us.

“But from what I understand, it’s pretty minor and we didn’t have to bring him on.”

Originally published as Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir wants AFL to intervene ahead of SCG clash, unhappy with surface