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Sport Nation
“This ground is a disgrace": Johnson slams SCG surface after Swans win
Nicholas Quinlan • May 17th, 2025 1:01 pm
Western Bulldogs great Brad Johnson expressed his grievances with the SCG surface during Friday night’s clash between Sydney and Carlton.
Sydney came out victorious against the Blues, winning by 16 points after trailing at all three breaks on Friday night.
But the 364-game player was frustrated with the playing surface as multiple players were seen slipping over due to the wet surface including Isaac Heeney during the fourth quarter.
“This ground is a disgrace,” he exclaimed.
“This turf is an absolute disgrace, how can Isaac Heeney break 50 and just put his foot down to plant and slip over?”
It should be noted that Sydney recorded 19.8mm of rain on Friday by the Bureau of Meteorology, the biggest rainfall that Sydney has had for the month.
However, the SCG has shown an ability to drain well as shown during 2020 when they manage to host the BBL09 Final despite Sydney being hit with 180mm of rain in the preceding days.
But it’s not the first time this week that a stadium in NSW has been criticised over its pitch surface.
In Thursday night’s Women’s State of Origin clash at neighbouring Allianz Stadium, there was mass criticism of the stadium’s ability to deal with rain, with sections of the ground being covered in mud.
Both grounds are run and managed by Venues NSW.
