Brendon Goddard and Jimmy Bartel slam Marvel Stadium turf but AFLPA says it’s not unsafe
The AFL is satisfied Bulldog Matt Suckling’s ankle injury wasn’t directly related Marvel Stadium’s shifting turf. But some of the game’s biggest names have hit out at the AFL, saying it’s not doing anything to fix the issue.
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Matt Suckling could miss next week’s clash with former club Hawthorn after injuring his ankle on Marvel Stadium’s shifting sands as the AFL’s turf wars intensified.
The Western Bulldogs player will have to prove his fitness after his ankle slipped on a section of turf that will this week be replaced by the AFL’s grounds crew.
AFL legend Jimmy Bartel mocked the league’s capacity to seriously review its own stadium, saying players were often injured on the turf.
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It came as Essendon champion Brendon Goddard said little had changed about the sandy, shifting surface in a decade, labelling it “good from afar but far from good”.
The AFLPA declared itself satisfied that Suckling and Gold Coast midfielder David Swallow’s injuries were not directly related to the stadium’s turf.
But it is understood the Bulldogs continue to discuss the state of the turf with the AFL, listing Suckling as a test.
The section of turf near the interchange benches will be replaced on Tuesday or Wednesday before a further ground inspection later in the week ahead of the Essendon-St Kilda clash.
Sydney football boss Charlie Gardiner told the Herald Sun that nearly 6000 square metres of turf had been replaced at the SCG ahead of Friday night’s clash with Adelaide.
The ground has been used for rugby league and A-League games because of stadium renovations and chopped up badly in a recent Super Rugby game.
Gardiner is confident the ground will perform well but the centre square — used as a summer cricket wicket — has not been replaced and could be problematic if it rains in coming days.
AFLPA executive Brett Murphy said the league was acting on player concerns.
“I wouldn’t say it’s unsafe,’’ he said.
“There were parts of it not up to scratch so the AFL will tear up a piece of the ground and replace it tomorrow or Wednesday.
“The players who played at the ground were generally happy with it. It was largely other players from other clubs who saw the game on TV. I was concerned watching it on TV.”
Recently retired player Goddard told Fox Footy’s AFL Tonight that nothing had improved from when he started playing at the ground now known as Marvel Stadium.
“It’s funny it’s taken this long to get so much attention. It’s been pretty poor compared to the standard of other grounds It’s really not different to the last 10 years. It’s good from afar but far from good. It looks good aesthetically but it’s been this soft sandy ground for a long time. You play 120 minutes of football and you go to change direction and it shifts quite regularly.
“I saw Suckling’s ankle literally roll due to the turf giving way.”
Bartel told Macquarie Radio the league might as well get a work experience kid from Year 10 to review the ground given they were unlikely to censure themselves.
He labelled it the dumbest stadium ever built because it was built the wrong way to maximise sunlight exposure.
“This has been going on since the stadium was built,” Bartel said.
“Nothing ever happens (to change the surface), they don’t care about it.
“There’s been issues where the fake synthetic turf goes so close to the ground there’s been players do their ACL on it.”
“There have been players run into the fence and cut their knee, there has been shifting surfaces.”
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