Latest news with #BaileyWilliams
Perth Now
19 hours ago
- Sport
- Perth Now
‘Unsafe': Rival coach slams SCG surface
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir has real concern over the playing surface at the SCG, saying it was unsafe to play on ahead of his team's clash there in round 17. Longmuir was in the stands in Sydney on Friday night when the Western Bulldogs beat the Swans. He didn't like what he saw. Visibly, up to a third of the turf on the SCG looked below AFL standard and players continued to lose their feet. At one stage, the Bulldogs Bailey Williams got caught in the turf and there were fears he'd injured his knee. He left the ground, but returned. But the risk of serious injury seemed real. There is plenty of rain heading Sydney's way during this week as well. Longmuir joined the chorus of football people slamming the surface. 'I watched the game on Friday night, and we'll be led by the AFL, but the moment my brain goes to, 'that's unsafe for players', I have a concern,' he said. 'And I went there on Friday night. I thought at times it was unsafe to play on. The SCG playing surface has come under scrutiny as multiple players could be seen slipping at one particular end of the ground. Credit: FOX SPORTS 'I think the Bailey Williams one, we just can't put players out there and risk their safety if the ground's not right. 'And I thought it was a bit unsafe the other night, especially down the left hand side. 'I don't make those decisions. Fully understand that both teams are playing on the same surface. 'So if the AFL deem it safe to play, we'll play, and I won't speak another moment of it. But thought it was unsafe the other night.' Longmuir said the AFL approached the Dockers to look at the ground, but as yet there had been no discussions about changing venues. He said he expected Fremantle and the AFL to go back and forth during the week ahead of Sunday's clash. Longmuir will also keep an eye on dual Brownlow medallist, Nat Fyfe, during the week. Despite a close game against St Kilda, which the Dockers won by 12 points, the Dockers did not activate their sub, Fyfe. With the Saints dominating clearances, he would have been handy. But Longmuir said Fyfe told the coaching staff during the third term that his calf didn't feel right. So they opted to leave him on the pine. 'Yeah, it came up to the box early in the third quarter that he had some calf awareness,' Longmuir said. 'He tried to warm up at half-time and he did some run-throughs and then he felt some awareness in his calf. 'So not sure whether we could have put him on if we had an injury, but since we didn't have an injury and didn't have any players really flagging, the safe option was to just leave him out of the game. 'It's a bit of a concern, of course. But we'll see how he pulls up tomorrow, get it scanned if we need to, and see where it takes us. 'But from what I understand, it's pretty minor and we didn't have to bring him on.'
Yahoo
a day ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
'That's unsafe for players': Freo coach holds SCG fears
Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir has expressed concerns about the state of the SCG turf, saying he is worried his players will be put at an elevated risk of injury if they are forced to play there on Sunday. AFL bosses are weighing up the option of moving Sunday's Fremantle-Sydney game away from the SCG after players continually slipped at the venue in the Western Bulldogs' win over the Swans on Friday night. The surface has been below its best since a concert at the venue by Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli in April. Particular concern during the Swans-Dogs clash centred on the Paddington end of the ground. Between 35mm to 90mm of rain is forecast for Sydney on Tuesday in what will further hamper the hopes of having the SCG turf up to scratch. "It's not up to AFL standard."@XanderMcGuire7 and Kate McCarthy discuss the SCG surface on The Round So Far, watch now thanks to @AAMI: — AFL (@AFL) June 28, 2025 Fremantle's finals hopes last year were torpedoed by a series of injuries to key players late in the season, and Longmuir fears his team will be at risk if they have to play at the SCG on Sunday. "I watched the game on Friday night, and we'll be led by the AFL, but the moment my brain goes to, 'That's unsafe for players', I have a concern," Longmuir said. "And I went there on Friday night. I thought it was a bit unsafe, especially down the left hand side." Longmuir made mention of an incident in which Bulldog Bailey Williams' foot was caught in the turf. "I think the Bailey Williams one - we just can't put players out there and risk their safety if the ground's not right," he said. Longmuir says he will abide by the AFL's decision. "If the AFL deem it safe to play, we'll play, and I won't speak another moment of it," Longmuir said. "The AFL approached us and they're going to look at it, like they should, and they've got the experts and will be guided by them. "But I thought it was unsafe the other night." Fremantle (10-5) are just percentage adrift of third spot following a six-match winning run. But their thrilling 11.15 (81) to 9.15 (69) win over St Kilda on Sunday came with an injury cost, and in a bizarre manner. Fremantle veteran Nat Fyfe was the sub, but he felt tightness in his calf while warming up at half-time and the Dockers decided against sending him on. Fyfe was set to feature in his fourth match back after recovering from a hamstring injury, and the Dockers will be hoping his latest setback isn't serious. "It's a bit of a concern, of course," Longmuir said. "But we'll see how he pulls up, get it scanned if we need to, and see where it takes us. "But from what I understand, it's pretty minor and we didn't have to bring him on."
The Age
a day ago
- Sport
- The Age
‘As bad as I've seen': AFL demands an explanation for ‘unacceptable' SCG surface
'There were no concerns at all,' Lewis said. 'The boys spoke to the grounds manager before the match, and there were no concerns. The Swans have trained on the field this week, and there haven't been any concerns at all. 'We just think it's the heavy dew that has been coming in on the last couple of nights, keeping the top of that surface wetter than we would like.' Dillon was on the phone first thing Saturday morning seeking an explanation for the substandard surface, speaking with the chair of Venues NSW David Gallop, which runs the SCG. The AFL will also send a turf expert to Sydney this week to ensure another surface debacle does not unfold for the Swans' coming clash against Fremantle on Sunday, July 6. Lewis said he was confident the ground would be ready for that match, despite the forecast for up to 172 millimetres of rain in the next seven days. But Dean Cox's men may have to train elsewhere. 'We might have to remove all activities until the next game just so we can get into that northern end, try and get some more seed into it, some heat mats down and some grow lights so we're all ready to go for the next game,' Lewis said. 'We'll do all our best this week. We'll make sure we get the field as best we can for the next game.' One heart-stopping moment happened during the third term when Bulldog star Bailey Williams's legs buckled awkwardly on the shifting ground as he chased after the ball. Another glaring example happened when speedster Nick Blakey slipped over as he tried to take off on a customary run at a crucial stage of the last quarter. The Bulldogs won a tense contest by nine points to mark captain Marcus Bontempelli's 250th game. Brownlow medallist and geelong premiership star Jimmy Bartel slammed the surface as unacceptable. 'I've genuinely got concern,' he told 3AW after the match. 'When I saw Bailey Williams charging out for the footy and went to change direction and [slipped], that had ACL written all over it. 'As we know, it would have to take a star to get hurt to do anything. 'It shouldn't matter who it is but could you only imagine of Isaac Heeney or Chad Warner or [Sam] Darcy or Bont [Marcus Bontempelli] went down with an injury? What would we be saying? 'There's no way you could tick that off [the surface]. Guys have got studded footwear in and if they decided to change direction, they were gone.' Bartel said the clubs and the AFL 'got lucky' that no player suffered a serious injury. Triple premiership Lion Jonathan Brown questioned whether the Friday night match should have been allowed to go ahead. 'This is as bad as I have seen in years,' Brown told Fox Footy. 'I remember playing on the early [Marvel Stadium] surface, and that was a sandpit, but this is shocking.
Sydney Morning Herald
2 days ago
- Sport
- Sydney Morning Herald
‘As bad as I've seen': AFL demands an explanation for ‘unacceptable' SCG surface
'There were no concerns at all,' Lewis said. 'The boys spoke to the grounds manager before the match, and there were no concerns. The Swans have trained on the field this week, and there haven't been any concerns at all. 'We just think it's the heavy dew that has been coming in on the last couple of nights, keeping the top of that surface wetter than we would like.' Dillon was on the phone first thing Saturday morning seeking an explanation for the substandard surface, speaking with the chair of Venues NSW David Gallop, which runs the SCG. The AFL will also send a turf expert to Sydney this week to ensure another surface debacle does not unfold for the Swans' coming clash against Fremantle on Sunday, July 6. Lewis said he was confident the ground would be ready for that match, despite the forecast for up to 172 millimetres of rain in the next seven days. But Dean Cox's men may have to train elsewhere. 'We might have to remove all activities until the next game just so we can get into that northern end, try and get some more seed into it, some heat mats down and some grow lights so we're all ready to go for the next game,' Lewis said. 'We'll do all our best this week. We'll make sure we get the field as best we can for the next game.' One heart-stopping moment happened during the third term when Bulldog star Bailey Williams's legs buckled awkwardly on the shifting ground as he chased after the ball. Another glaring example happened when speedster Nick Blakey slipped over as he tried to take off on a customary run at a crucial stage of the last quarter. The Bulldogs won a tense contest by nine points to mark captain Marcus Bontempelli's 250th game. Brownlow medallist and geelong premiership star Jimmy Bartel slammed the surface as unacceptable. 'I've genuinely got concern,' he told 3AW after the match. 'When I saw Bailey Williams charging out for the footy and went to change direction and [slipped], that had ACL written all over it. 'As we know, it would have to take a star to get hurt to do anything. 'It shouldn't matter who it is but could you only imagine of Isaac Heeney or Chad Warner or [Sam] Darcy or Bont [Marcus Bontempelli] went down with an injury? What would we be saying? 'There's no way you could tick that off [the surface]. Guys have got studded footwear in and if they decided to change direction, they were gone.' Bartel said the clubs and the AFL 'got lucky' that no player suffered a serious injury. Triple premiership Lion Jonathan Brown questioned whether the Friday night match should have been allowed to go ahead. 'This is as bad as I have seen in years,' Brown told Fox Footy. 'I remember playing on the early [Marvel Stadium] surface, and that was a sandpit, but this is shocking.
The Age
3 days ago
- Sport
- The Age
‘As bad as I've seen' AFL demands an explanation for dangerous SCG ‘sandpit'
Dillon was on the phone first thing Saturday morning seeking an explanation for the substandard surface, speaking with chair of Venues NSW David Gallop, an organisation that oversees the SCG Trust. The AFL leases the ground from the trust. The AFL will also send a turf expert to Sydney this week to ensure another surface debacle does not unfold for the Swans' coming clash against Fremantle on Sunday, July 6. One heart-stopping moment happened during the third term when Bulldog star Bailey Williams's legs buckled awkwardly on the shifting ground as he chased after the ball. Another glaring example happened when speedster Nick Blakey slipped over as he tried to take off on a customary run at a crucial stage of the last quarter. The Bulldogs won a tense contest by nine points to mark captain Marcus Bontempelli's 250th game. Brownlow medallist and geelong premiership star Jimmy Bartel slammed the surface as unacceptable. 'I've genuinely got concern,' he told 3AW after the match. 'When I saw Bailey Williams charging out for the footy and went to change direction and (slipped), that had ACL written all over it. 'As we know, it would have to take a star to get hurt to do anything. 'It shouldn't matter who it is but could you only imagine of Isaac Heeney or Chad Warner or (Sam) Darcy or Bont (Marcus Bontempelli) went down with an injury? What would we be saying? 'There's no way you could tick that off (the surface). Guys have got studded footwear in and if they decided to change direction, they were gone.' Bartel said the clubs and the AFL 'got lucky' that no player suffered a serious injury. Triple premiership Lion Jonathan Brown questioned whether the Friday night match should have been allowed to go ahead. 'This is as bad as I have seen in years,' Brown told Fox Footy. 'I remember playing on the early (Marvel Stadium) surface, and that was a sandpit, but this is shocking. 'It's disgraceful management to let the ground get to this. It's a shame.'
