SCG surface slammed by fans and commentators as relaid turf fails to hold up

The AFL is pulling no stops in fixing the turf at the SCG ahead of next Sunday’s Swans game, with ‘grass god’ Bruce Macphee to be sent to Sydney to repair the ‘shocking’ surface.

The AFL will send its ‘Grass God’ Bruce Macphee to Sydney in the next few days to help make some urgent repairs to the dangerous SCG turf problems.

And AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon personally rang the head of Venues NSW to voice his disgust at the state of the ground and demand urgent repairs.

Senior football and club officials were furious with the state of the turf which posed a serious safety risk to players in the Bulldogs’ thrilling win over Friday night.

The concern has prompted the league to arrange its top surface expert, Macphee, who is the senior agronomist at Australian Golf Course Superintendents Association, to make immediate assessments in the early part of next week.

The turf at the SCG has come under fire after Friday night’s clash. Picture: Phil Hillyard.

The SCG staff are racing the clock to either fix or replace the turf in time for Sunday’s clash at the same venue against Fremantle.

The league has spoken with the Dockers and the AFL Players’ Association and at this stage remain confident the game will go ahead as scheduled.

Dillon has spoken to Venues NSW chief executive Kerrie Mather and is awaiting an explanation for the embarrassing state of the surface.

While the AFL can shift games due to surface problems, the league remains confident it will improve in time with Macphee’s assistance this week.

The league was unimpressed with the surface issues which caused players to constantly slip over on Thursday night, triggering alarm at both clubs.

The issues stem from an Andrea Bocelli concert on April 3 at the venue with the surface seemingly still feeling the after-effects.

Since the concert an AFL turf inspector has visited the SCG twice and is understood to have been comfortable with the ground staff’s plans.

It aso passed an AFL inspection on Thursday but the turf deteriorated badly once players started digging it up early into Friday night’s game.

In particular, the shifting and slippery turf was considered a hazard for the players with several stars and club officials making clear their frustrations with the condition of the turf.

There is expected to be a large-scale replacement of turf on the ground this week.

‘SHOCKING’ SCG TURF SLAMMED

The “shocking” state of the SCG playing surface has come under fire once again as challenges from relaid turf saw players constantly slipping during the Swans-Bulldogs clash on Friday night.

After the venue hosted an Andrea Bocelli concert in early April, where a temporary stage and seating were set up at the Paddington End, grass had to be replanted on nearly a third of the ground.

The new turf was sourced from the Evergreen turf farm, which services the majority of stadiums in and around Sydney. About 3,500 square metres of grass was replaced as SCG ground staff worked to get the ground back in shape for the Swans’ next home game on April 20 against Port Adelaide.

The SCG turf has come under fire.

That clash saw a handful of players lose their footing on the relaid turf, but given the afternoon start time, there was less of a chance for dew to affect the surface.

In subsequent home games against the Giants, Carlton and Adelaide, the affected area of grass had been noticeable, particularly with discolouration; however, the problem escalated as the Dogs came to town.

Seriously. How bad is this ground surface. What an absolute disgrace SCG. So dangerous and makes the game a poor spectacle. #AFLSwansDogs

— Prince Imperial (@PrinceImp1877) June 27, 2025

That SCG turf is a disgrace. Clearly not safe. Unbelievable both clubs ticked it off as ok to play on#AFLSwansDogs

— Kane Neville (@kaneneville) June 27, 2025

SCG curator Adam Lewis spoke about the poor playing surface after the match on 3AW and suggested a period of poor weather in Sydney has contributed to the conditions.

The city experienced above-average rainfall throughout May, which made it difficult for the new grass that was planted to dry out and come back to normal. While Lewis also confirmed that no issues were raised about the turf before the match, he conceded that it has taken far too long to get the ground back up to standard.

“It’s not what we wanted,” Lewis said. “The turf has been down for a couple of months, we’ve been using our heat lamps and grow lights, we’ve been doing everything we can.

The SCG turf was under fire after Friday night. Picture: Phil Hillyard.

“We’ve just had some bad weather up in Sydney, and it’s just not at a spot where we’d like it. We should be in a good spot by now. We’ve just had that bad weather that hasn’t helped. But normally we’d have it primed and ready to go.

“Even though it’s passing its testing…we’ve had very heavy dew the past few nights, and it’s keeping the top of the surface wetter than we would like it. We need to try and dry that out and get it right for the next game.

“There were no concerns (pre-game) at all. The Swans trained on the field this week, and there haven’t been any concerns at all.

“We’ll review this week…we might have to remove activities until the next game so we can get into that northern end and try and get some more seed into it, some heat into it and more grow lights, so we’re ready to go for the next game.”

No way does the scg turf passes the test. Dangerous for players and hurting the spectacle. What is the process? @tommorris32@cleary_mitch@3AW693@1116sen@7AFL@AFL

— Openforbusiness (@fredandbarney23) June 27, 2025

SCG turf reminds me of the Colonial Stadium Kentucky Bluegrass era. Absolute cow paddock #AFLSwansDogs

— Ronny Lerner (@RonnyLerner) June 27, 2025

It was the first time the SCG had been used in nearly a month since the Crows match on May 31, and from the opening quarter, it was clear players were struggling to adjust to some of the conditions.

Whether it was attackers trying to change direction or defenders losing their footing as they planted their leg to kick the ball, players from both teams regularly fell to the floor. It became comical at times, with the scene closer to resembling an ice-skating rink for much of the game.

Swans coach Dean Cox. Picture: Getty Images

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Swans coach Dean Cox made clear post-match that it wasn’t to blame for their loss, but conceded there have been struggles with the ground in the 85 days since the Bocelli concert.

“Yeah, there’s been some challenges with the surface throughout the year,” Cox said.

“But, you know, I rely on looking at other things. That’s where I spend my time, things I can try and control.”

Other commentators were far more scathing with their criticism, as Fox Footy sideline commentator Alastair Lynch remarked on the lack of stability for players kicking the ball, and premiership-winner Jonathan Brown labelled the ground “as bad as I’ve seen in years”.

“I remember playing early on the Colonial Stadium surface, and that was a sandpit, but this is shocking,” Brown said.

“This is disgraceful mismanagement by the ground, how they’ve allowed it to get to this. It’s a real shame. It’s been a really good spectacle, the ball movement, when both teams get going.”

Despite the slightest amount of rain around Sydney on Friday, precipitation was hardly a reason for the issues during the game. According to the Bureau of Meteorology, Sydney only had 1mm of rain in the 10 days leading up to the match, with plenty of time to get the ground prepared for the clash.

After the game, the SCG ground staff immediately tended to the centre square portion of the field with handheld rollers. However, their attention is set to turn to the Paddington End throughout the week with the benefit of a nine-day turnaround before the Swans’ next home match against the Dockers on July 6.

Originally published as SCG surface slammed by fans and commentators as relaid turf fails to hold up