{"id":455018,"date":"2025-06-30T20:27:04","date_gmt":"2025-06-30T20:27:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=455018"},"modified":"2025-06-30T23:15:53","modified_gmt":"2025-06-30T23:15:53","slug":"lawsuit-fears-as-afl-urged-to-consider-ditching-scg-game","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=455018","title":{"rendered":"'Lawsuit' fears as AFL urged to consider ditching SCG game"},"content":{"rendered":"

Emails revealed by Nine's Footy Classified have \ufeffbrought to light correspondence between Port Adelaide<\/a> and the SCG over issues with the turf nearly three months ago.<\/p>\n

It comes after the SCG turf came under heavy scrutiny<\/a> during the recent clash between\ufeff Sydney<\/a> and the Western Bulldogs on Friday, where the Paddington end of the ground had shifting grass that players struggled with all night.<\/p>\n

The issue stems from a concert held at the venue in April, that three months later is yet to be rectified. \ufeff<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> 'Same sad story' haunting Tigers with grim record in sight<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> 'Rattled' star late to Blues camp after 'really stupid' error<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

READ MORE:<\/strong> How bolter 'emerged from the wilderness' before Origin stunner<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

And now Nine AFL reporter Damien Barrett\ufeff has revealed emails from Port Adelaide footy boss Chris Davies to the SCG and the AFL itself slamming the quality of the turf during their match in round six.<\/p>\n

\"Exclusive<\/p>\n

The first email was sent the day before the game seeking clarity after a captain's run session that worried players.<\/p>\n

\ufeffBarrett said the response the Power received was simply "lip service". Davies then followed up with a subsequent email after the game, after players struggled to keep their feet.<\/p>\n

That second email, Barrett explains, included "damning statements" about the quality of the playing surface.<\/p>\n

Clearly, the turf remains a significant issue\ufeff as Bulldogs and Sydney players struggled to deal with it 10 weeks later.<\/p>\n

One incident during that game worried Essendon champion Matthew Lloyd in particular.<\/p>\n

It occurred when Bulldogs flanker Bailey Williams\ufeff slipped on the turf, with his leg appearing to buckle.<\/p>\n

He was fine, but Lloyd said he gasped watching live from the SCG, saying an injury could have led to a lawsuit against the AFL and the venue.<\/p>\n

"\ufeffWe thought this incident had lawsuit written all over it," Lloyd told Nine's Footy Classified<\/em>.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

"We had our hearts in our mouths\ufeff thinking 'this could be an ACL'. I thought of Shaun Rehn when he slipped on a plate in the middle of the ground."<\/p>\n

Footy Classified is now available as a podcast! Subscribe\/follow via<\/strong> Apple<\/strong><\/a>,<\/strong> Spotify<\/strong><\/a> or<\/strong> Google Podcasts<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Brownlow Medallist Jimmy Bartel remains confused by the AFL's decision to deem the surface safe to play on.\ufeff<\/p>\n

"I want to know what is actually deemed as dangerous . Lloyd highlighted the Bailey Williams situation and we were so fortunate he didn't do his knee," Bartel said.<\/p>\n

"Tell us what is dangerous, because \ufeffif you don't think that's dangerous tell us what is."<\/p>\n

https:\/\/twitter.com\/FootyonNine\/status\/1939648150589075571?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw<\/a><\/p>\n

Fremantle will play Sydney at the SCG this weekend, and Dockers coach Justin Longmuir is concerned about the surface.<\/p>\n

"\ufeffThe moment my brain goes to 'that's unsafe for players', I have a concern. And I went there on Friday night. I thought at times it was unsafe to play on," Longmuir said on Sunday.<\/p>\n

"We can't put players out there and risk their safety."\ufeff\ufeff<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Emails revealed by Nine's Footy Classified have \ufeffbrought to light correspondence between Port Adelaide and the SCG over issues with the turf nearly three months […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":455020,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455018"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=455018"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455018\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":455023,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/455018\/revisions\/455023"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/455020"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=455018"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=455018"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=455018"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}