By Vince Rugari
Venues NSW has defended its turf management practices amid heavy criticism of the surface at the SCG and the high possibility that Allianz Stadium will be torn up in the coming weeks due to drainage issues, which could impact the end of the NRL season and the start of the A-League.
Adam Lewis, the head curator for Venues NSW, admits he was “caught by surprise” on Friday night as players from both the Sydney Swans and Western Bulldogs struggled to keep their footing at the SCG’s Paddington end, which has struggled to recover from an Andrea Bocelli concert on April 3.
Bailey Williams struggles to keep his feet at the SCG.Credit: Channel Seven
The sight of players constantly slipping over led to Swans chairman Andrew Pridham describing the state of the surface as “unacceptable” and the AFL sending not only a formal please explain to Venues NSW, but also their own turf expert Bruce Macphee to Sydney on Tuesday to perform further testing.
Despite fears from Dockers coach Justin Longmuir that the slippery ground appeared to put player safety at risk, and a chorus of condemnation from key AFL figures, Lewis said there was “no chance” that Sunday’s clash between them and the Swans would be moved.
“Going off our testing, there is no concern for safety for players,” Lewis said.
“The AFL is sending up Bruce Macphee [on Tuesday] to do another set of testing, and then we’ll be governed on his testing and his advice moving forward.”
Lewis said there was no concerns raised last week, through their own processes or via feedback from the Swans as they trained on the SCG, that the field would perform as it did on Friday night. He attributed that to dew, which made the surface more slippery than anticipated.
SCG assistant curator Ayden Klopf spraying wicket square.Credit: Steven Siewert
The Paddington End, or the northern end of the SCG, is partly shielded by direct sunlight due to the Bradman Stand which makes it more difficult to bounce back from major events and the damage left behind by concert stages - along with the Swans’ regular training activities, which had disrupted those efforts. Lewis said Venues NSW were talking to the Swans about trying to keep boots off the ground this week to give the turf its best chance of a full recovery.
“The rest of the field is great,” he said. “The plant health is great, the traction is great. Historically, we’ve always slipped at the SCG in winter with the heavy dews that we have. They’re just not quite like what was on Friday.”
Sydney is set to cop up to 90mm of rain on Tuesday but Lewis said this week’s wet weather would not hamper preparations for Sunday’s game because of the SCG’s excellent drainage.
SCG groundsmen Cameron Billett seeding.Credit: Steven Siewert
The drainage next door, at Allianz Stadium, is not quite as good. In fact, sources with knowledge of that stadium’s workings suggested that extensive works are likely to be conducted in the coming months. Not only is the field to be relaid, but layers beneath that will be dug up to address longstanding issues which have led to pools of water accumulating on top of the grass, affecting play in multiple codes - most notably in the second women’s State of Origin clash in May.
No decisions will be made until later in July, but that job is likely to take Allianz Stadium out of action for approximately six weeks, which could play fixturing havoc with the end of the NRL season and the start of the next A-League season for major tenants the Sydney Roosters and Sydney FC.
“Testing is still ongoing with that. We’re hoping to hear more from the independent assessors in a couple of weeks’ time,” Lewis said.
Allianz will host the British and Irish Lions’ clash with the NSW Waratahs on Saturday night and then a glamour friendly between Sydney FC and Wrexham AFC on July 15.
Lewis stressed that the complications with SCG and Allianz were “totally separate” and not indicative of wider problems with how Venues NSW manages those grounds or any others within its network.
“The staff have done everything in their power to present the fields as best as we can,” he said.