MCG curators have just 48 hours to have the hallowed turf in tip-top shape in preparation for the AFL season opener.
The consequence of two sell-out Ed Sheeran concerts at the ‘G was a large chunk of turf in the middle of the ground needing to be replaced less than a fortnight before Round 1. The area being worked on covers 10,000 square metres, the biggest transition since the entire ground was redone in 2014.
Ground staff began laying the new turf on Wednesday, at a cost which is understood to be footed by the concert organisers.
The strips of turf have been laid but it’s the seams between which has David King concerned.
The dual premiership former North Melbourne player believes the MCC and AFL executives have taken a massive gamble.
“I am concerned about the MCG surface. A repair job that started less than two weeks ago, it’s a massive race against the clock,” he told SEN’s Whateley.
“We’ll see all the photos come out today and the photos will look terrific, they will. There will be green spray paint everywhere, they’ll be seams everywhere and they’ll say, ‘it’ll bed in, it’ll bed in, it’ll bed in’.
“We’re 48 hours out, it's not going to get too much time to bed in. The seams are what worries me… whoever ticks off on the viability and the safety of the surface has got a big job in my opinion.
“It always gets ticked off, there’s never a doubt in that because it’s hard to turn up and argue with a curator who’s been doing this for 30 years.”
Our “Castle on the Hill” looking magnificent as we edge towards the AFL season-opener.
— Sam Edmund (@Sammy__Edmund) March 13, 2023
Out: Sandpit
In: Hallowed turf
No filters or green spray paints were used in this production. pic.twitter.com/jkOyrV5m1F
Richmond and Carlton open the season on Thursday night, with the MCG also the venue when Geelong hosts Collingwood at the MCG 24 hours later.
Ground staff are blessed by a good weather forecast for the coming days, but as Gerard Whateley notes: “We’re not going to the MCG on Thursday night, 95,000 of us, only to be told, ‘we’re not happy with the grass, we’re not playing’”.
King agrees that there’s little doubt the game will go ahead, but he hopes the headlines don't reflect a poor MCG surface on Friday morning.
“So they run the risk… it’s a big risk to take, isn’t it? I’m fearing that on Friday morning we’ll be talking about a shifting surface… just those seams, they do cause problems, and I know no one wants to talk about this stuff ahead of time but there’s only one percentage when you’re providing a safe workplace like this and that’s 100 per cent,” he continued.
“If it ain’t 100 per cent you’re running a risk. I just think the MCG has cut this way too fine.
“We’ve never seen as much of the MCG ripped up as we have in the last two weeks.”
Essendon great Tim Watson shares a similar view but fears it could be a league-wide issue.
“I fear there will be a lot of discussion about the playing surfaces around the competition,” Watson told SEN Breakfast.
“There been some interruptions up in Sydney where the Giants will be playing on the weekend, there’s also the MCG that’s got the new turf down… and also Marvel Stadium, which I don’t believe has completed its resurfacing yet.
“There’s no game in Perth because they’re still redoing their surfaces (after the Ed Sheeran concert).
“I say keep your eye on it.”
The MCG will also host clashes on Saturday and Sunday to make it four for the round.
MCC CEO Stuart Fox has previously said his team had prepared for the renovation which was progressing ahead of schedule last week.