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The SCG and September should be synonymous for the Sydney Swans

Rhys Burns new author
3rd September, 2014
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SCG - the home of the Swans, except when it matters.
Rhys Burns new author
Roar Rookie
3rd September, 2014
35
1091 Reads

September – what a wonderful time of the year. The grass is just that bit greener in September, the beer that bit more delicious, and the tackles that bit more ferocious.

Welcome to finals season, where the bermuda and couch fields are fertilised by blood and sweat. Where the dreams of kids running around in the backyard, kicking that goal after the siren and etching their names into the annals of sporting history, become reality.

Where the couch becomes the pew, Dennis Commetti and Bruce McAvaney become (delicious) pastors, delivering sermons and narrating the heroic exploits of the gods in the cauldron of the MCG or ANZ Stadium.

No, Swannies fans, you heard that right. You know that big stadium, the massive one out at Homebush that sits in the middle of nowhere, lying dormant, that really has nothing to do with the club, nor the code, but that you know you’re going to have to trek to come September?

Yeah, ANZ. Well, it’s that time of year again.

“Mum, Dad, doesn’t finishing on top of the table mean that we get two home finals?”
“Yes it does.”
“Well, why are we on the M5 and not Anzac Parade?”
“ANZ is our home ground mate,”
“No it’s not. We only played three games there this year Dad. Our home ground is the SCG.”

This isn’t the pilot to Australia’s version of Kids say the Darndest Things – potentially to be hosted by Grant Denyer, should he continue his John Farnham-esque TV comeback’ tour. It’s an incredibly valid question.

Why do the Bloods, as ‘reward’ for being the best team of regular season, play at a venue whose dimensions and characteristics offer absolutely no advantage to them? Why do they put up with below average surface conditions, risking injury to themselves and the opposition? There is a retractable grandstand that often covers part of the field for rugby league games, plus there is a widely-held view that playing conditions at ANZ are constantly sub par.

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They don’t train there, they rarely play there, yet come September it’s Sydney in a shootout in the Wild West.

Hawthorn played four home games this regular season down in Tasmania at Aurora Stadium – one more game at a secondary venue than Sydney. Where do you think the team and their fans will be heading this month for their home games?

Bingo, that big bowl on Brunton Avenue, Richmond, Victoria, 3002.

The Sydney Cricket Ground is one of the oldest sporting grounds in the world, and is steeped in rich history. To abandon it when September rolls around, especially after its recent facelift, is an absolute travesty, and one that needs to be rectified immediately.

The agreement with ANZ Stadium expires in 2016. Brethren of the Bloods, am I alone in imploring all parties involved to ignore the undoubtedly lucrative offer from Homebush in order to keep things on the right side of Anzac Parade?

If you’re worried about fitting everyone in, open up the Moore Park facilities completely, a la the Waratahs’ and Wallabies’ campaigns – tailgates were setup, big screens mounted and an infectiously enthusiastic atmosphere was generated.

I’m yet to hear an argument that’s irrefutable, and if I do, I’ll handball to someone who is significantly more intelligent than me to slot it.

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Let’s keep the home ground advantage as just that. If somehow, the powers-that-be decide it’s ever worth a chance, we must capitalise – we must march in droves, clad in red and white on the SCG until it overflows.

We must roar ‘ball’ louder than any toothless Collingwood supporter ever dared, cheer louder for our boys than any Cats fan ever cheered for an Ablett, and laud good footy more frequently and appropriately than any MCC member with a cable knit sweater draped over their shoulders.

To our boys, we wish you the best of luck this Saturday against Fremantle. It will be a battle of attrition, and although we won’t be in the trenches with you, we will be in the stands. We dare to dream that one day, the seats in which witness the mercurial exploits of our sporting idols will be in the Sydney Cricket Ground, the very seats that have already witnessed so much greatness.

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