‘Exaggerated Concerns’: SCG Curator Stands by ‘Nightmare’ Pitch Quality

The SCG’s head curator, Adam Lewis, has expressed his frustration over the “ill-informed pile-on” directed towards his staff following the recent criticism of the playing surface during the Swans-Bulldogs match last weekend.

In a media address on Friday morning, Lewis acknowledged that it had been a challenging week for his team, attributing the poor condition of the turf to a combination of heavy rainfall and the obstruction of sunlight caused by the new Bradman and Noble stands. He noted that conditions on Friday night were made worse by a particularly heavy dew.

“It’s been an incredibly tough week for both myself and my team. I believe it’s been exaggerated and blown out of proportion,” Lewis remarked. “I can handle the heat, but my young team, who are committed to maintaining high standards at the SCG, deserve better. They give their all.”

“The unjust criticism on social media is uncalled for. People need to understand that my team members are human beings and don’t deserve to be maligned. There are plenty of ‘experts’ chiming in with uninformed opinions.”

Commentator Jonathan Brown described the surface during the Fox Footy telecast as “the worst I’ve seen in years”, raising concerns about player safety. “It reminds me of the early days of the Docklands stadium, which was like a sandpit, but this is worse,” he remarked.

Following the match, the outcry grew for the Swans’ upcoming game against the Dockers on Sunday to be relocated, possibly to GWS’s home ground at Homebush.

Nine’s Footy Classified reported last Monday night regarding emails sent from Power officials to the AFL expressing concerns over the surface after their round six match against the Swans, which was the first played on the ground after the April 3 concert.

Lewis described the negative chatter on social media as “definitely our worst nightmare”, yet insisted there was “absolutely no chance” that Sunday’s game would be moved.

“We’re preparing the ground to the best of our ability, and when the surface doesn’t perform to expectation, it’s disheartening,” he said. “The first thing we do is switch off the commentary because we know it’s just sensationalism.”

“Yes, the grass did establish after the relaying post-concert, but the unprecedented weather patterns we’ve faced in Sydney have hindered our efforts. The northern grandstand casts a significant shadow on that end of the ground.”

“Our team has been doing everything within their power, including utilising sun lamps at the Paddington end for most of the week. The Swans even shifted their training to Tramway Oval across the road in an effort to alleviate stress on the ground, although both teams will be doing their captain’s runs on the SCG on Saturday.”

Lewis expressed his hope that both clubs would provide feedback from the weekend matches to help improve the surface further. “We want both teams to come out and put on a great performance, and we’ll take onboard any feedback they offer moving forward,” he commented.

“The Swans have been incredibly supportive, working with us and relocating their training to Tramway, and we’re optimistic about bringing them back. We’ve been able to deploy our grow lights to give the grass the best conditions to recover.”

Looking ahead, he does not foresee any further issues with the turf during Sunday afternoon’s match. “We are quite confident it will hold up. We’ve undergone independent testing alongside our own, and the AFL has also conducted their testing, all of which has returned excellent results.”

“We’re excited for Sunday. It’s a daytime match, and the weather over the next few days looks promising, so we can’t wait for a full house and an exciting game.”