AFL 2024: North Melbourne happy with Marvel Stadium surface after Pink concerts

The impact of four Pink concerts is clearly visible at Marvel Stadium, but the Kangaroos and AFL say there are no issues as footy returns to the venue.

North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson says he is impressed by the state of the Marvel Stadium surface as AFL returns to the venue on Saturday. Picture: Daniel Pockett / Getty Images

Pop star Pink’s four concerts have left their mark on Marvel Stadium’s surface on the eve of footy’s return to the venue, but North Melbourne and the AFL are not concerned by the aesthetics.

AFL boss Andrew Dillon and Kangaroos coach Alastair Clarkson both said the turf at Docklands was in good shape ahead of North Melbourne’s clash against Fremantle on Saturday.

It comes despite the clearly visible impact of Pink’s concerts – two held last month and another two a fortnight ago – on a half-forward flank at the southern end of the ground.

One strip of turf about 15m long that runs across the width of the ground has significantly less grass coverage than the rest of the ground, but it’s understood the dry weather forecast means ground staff have no concerns about that section.

A strip of turf at Marvel Stadium has significantly less grass coverage following Pink's series of concerts at the venue over the last month. Picture: Ed Bourke

The scar on the Marvel surface was also visible when the Matildas played an Olympic qualifying match last month after Pink’s first pair of concerts, with players not encountering any issues with the pitch.

“I’ve got no doubt that the turf is going to be in ripping nick, and in this beautiful Melbourne weather, it’s great,” Dillon said after inspecting the surface on Friday.

Clarkson gave the southern end of the ground a close inspection before his press conference and he had no concerns ahead of Saturday’s game.

“It’s terrific the ground staff, the work that they do at all stadiums around the country. The way they can turn around the oval in such a quick space of time is remarkable,” he said.

“We’re obviously interested in the surface, but it looks magnificent, so hopefully it will be a great game of footy against Freo tomorrow.”

He said the Kangaroos had been buoyed by the return of both co-captains to face the Dockers after Jy Simpkin (concussion) and Luke McDonald (hamstring) both missed the round 1 loss to GWS.

North Melbourne captains Luke McDonald (left) and Jy Simpkin (right) will both return against Fremantle. Picture: Daniel Pockett / Getty Images

“They’re pretty significant, you try to pretend ‘we’ll be OK without them’, which was the case leading into the game last week,” Clarkson said.

“We couldn’t do much about Jy, he obviously had to go through the concussion protocols, but we had the choice to select Luke last week and we just thought one more week would be advantageous for him.

“(Simpkin) is such a flexible player, he can play a little bit on the wing and half-forward and also on the midfield … it’s where we can just get best bang for buck … that’ll sort of depend on whether the younger guys like George and those sort of guys are going OK in the middle of the ground, then we might be able to afford to play Jy more on the periphery.”

After honouring club legend Dr Allen Aylett with an end named after him at home games last season, the Kangaroos will do the same in 2024 for premiership coach Denis Pagan at the southern end.

“Denis has made such an enormous contribution to our footy club, and he’s just shaped so many young men’s lives,” Clarkson said.

“He made that as a coach obviously, but he played at the club for over 100 games as well in the late ’60s and ’70s.

“We just hope in some small way we can say thank you to him by naming an end after him – we did it last year with Doc Aylett, also a very decorated person in North Melbourne’s history, so it’s very, very fitting that Denis gets the accolade this year.”