The NRL has commissioned an independent turf specialist to establish the safety of Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium playing surface after multiple NSW clubs expressed concerns ahead of the ground’s eight-game onslaught in Magic Round.
Suncorp Stadium’s ground surface started alarmingly coming apart in areas during Brisbane’s 20-14 loss to Canberra last Saturday, with Raiders CEO Don Furner admitting players were taking “big chunks” from the grass.
There is just three weeks until Magic Round – where all eight games will be played at Suncorp Stadium, with rain forecast for 13 of the 16 days leading into the May 5-7 spectacle, which could hamper preparation of the surface.
The NRL has concerns over both Sydney’s Accor Stadium and Suncorp, which has hosted an NRL game for all seven rounds — including Thursday night’s game between the Dolphins and South Sydney — and Super Rugby Pacific games over three of the past four weeks.
And there is no respite with three NRL games, a Queensland Reds rugby match and a Brisbane Roar fixture to be played there before Magic Round.
“It was a very slippery surface on Saturday night and our guys did slip a fair bit and there were big chunks coming up as well,” Furner said.
South Sydney CEO Blake Solly said with his side playing three games at Suncorp over the next four weeks, against the Dolphins, Broncos and Storm, “the standard of the surface is going to be important to us and a concern if it’s not acceptable.
“But last year, despite torrential rain over two days before our game at Magic weekend, they did a wonderful job preparing a surface that was perfectly good enough for NRL footy and hopefully they can do the same again over the next few weeks.”
Magic Round features two Friday night games, three matches on Saturday and a further three on Sunday.
“When you have that many games, the surface conditions are obviously going to be a challenge at something like Magic Rounds,” said St George Illawarra CEO Ryan Webb, whose team plays in game six of the weekend. “But they were able to keep it up to standard and held up for all games last year and you’d hope they would do the same this year.”
NRL head of football elite competitions Graham Annesley has ordered an independent review of Suncorp Stadium.
“I have been watching games at Suncorp over recent weeks and have been similarly concerned by some of the scuffing of the surface,” Annesley said. “We contacted stadium management and have been assured all of the standard testing readings taken regularly are within the normal range.
“However, with Magic Round not far away, I commissioned an independent inspection of the venue by a turf specialist and I expect to have the results by early next week.
“There is no threat to Magic Round but the independent report to assess the field surface is part of our due diligence.
“We are just doing the right thing by our clubs and players to reassure them the surface will be in a safe and suitable condition to host Magic Round.”
Annesley rejected any notion that Magic Round games could be moved to nearby Gold Coast or Redcliffe.
“The NRL has been in touch and we have said we are happy for their consultant to come up. Separately, we have our own independent consultant who does regular testing for us and we took the precaution of having that person come on Tuesday to do a new round of tests,” Suncorp Stadium general manager Alan Graham said.
“We’ve got the results and all the readings came up within the required standards. We are more concerned about player safety, traction and shear strength of the turf. All of those are within the acceptable ranges.
“We are seeing some scuffing of the surface but that’s due to us, not long ago, replacing the turf, which has happened to a few stadiums around Australia as a result of some recent concerts.
“Our guys are actually going to be working right through the night (on Thursday) to start a renovation to get the turf back to a more robust condition because we have a 10-day window between now and our next event.
“Obviously we have an eye on Magic Round, which is probably the biggest punishment you could put any field through.”
Asked about the Accor Stadium playing surface, Annesley said: “We have seen similar scuffing of the surface at Accor Stadium so we are obtaining a similar report for that venue.
“The issue of field safety primarily comes down to two factors — stability and traction — and the standard readings that are regularly monitored at all major venues are required to fall into the acceptable range.”
Stadium grass can become loose at this time of year when ground staff transition from the summer couch grass to rye, grass that survives in the cold winter months. Most leading grounds have a couch base and then over sow with the rye, which may give a dry, sandy appearance for a few weeks.
