Plenty of talk about the A-League grand final has been centred on the state of the Allianz stadium pitch for the season-deciding game, with the Waratahs versus Blues game sure to only make things worse.
It seemed for a time yesterday that the Waratahs were going to help their cross-code rivals out by moving their game on Saturday to a different venue, but that ultimately proved to be a false hope for football fans – the Super Rugby game will go ahead as planned.
It raises the question: were the Waratahs right to put their foot down stay at their home venue, or should they have shifted grounds ahead of the biggest A-League game of the year?
Let’s get the ball rolling on the debate. In the red corner this week we have Roar Editor Ben Conkey, who thinks the Waratahs made the right decision, while in the blue we have Assistant Editor Daniel Jeffrey, who has an entirely different opinion.
Let’s get to it!
For: The Waratahs right to stay at Allianz Stadium
BJ Conkey
In June 2016, the A-League announced the fixture list for the following season. From then, Football Federation Australia knew their showpiece event was on May 7.
They’ve had the best part of ten months to work out all the logistics depending on which teams made the grand final.
It surely wouldn’t have taken that long to look at the NRL, Super Rugby, and AFL fixture list to see which grounds were being used on the day or the day before and which teams would be affected.
Sydney FC then went on to lose just once in a stellar home and away season, but it feels as though the impending fixture clash with Super Rugby was only considered after the negative reaction to the state of the Allianz Stadium pitch in the Sky Blues’ semi-final win.
The Waratahs should never have been put into a predicament where they were being asked to make a last minute sacrifice for another code.
With rugby struggling as it is, moving the Saturday night rugby fixture to North Sydney at late notice would have been an extremely dumb business move and would have upset fans and stakeholders.
The FFA obviously did some planning around the grand final date as more grounds are available all weekend due to the NRL’s rep round being on. They’re just not the right ones.
It’s not rugby’s fault that Allianz Stadium struggles to host back-to-back football games.
It’s FFA’s fault for not having a clause in place to make sure potential grounds were available exclusively for the week of the grand final if they were required.
If the A-League had this clause, then the Waratahs could have given their fans two weeks’ notice along the lines of “If Sydney FC win the semi-final, we will be playing at ‘such and such’”.
Instead, the FFA have been caught out and it’s an embarrassment, but it’s not the Waratahs’ problem.
Against: The Waratahs should not have stayed at Allianz Stadium
Daniel Jeffrey
The Waratahs have missed a trick by staying at Allianz Stadium. Why not take the opportunity to spread their wings, give their game against the Blues a small ground, suburban feel and earn a bit of goodwill while they were at it?
I’ll admit from the get-go that I’m a big fan of small, boutique grounds – give me a game at Leichhardt Oval instead of ANZ Stadium any day of the week. But it’s not just due to sentiment that I’d like to see the Waratahs playing in the burbs.
The fact is, the same 10,000-strong crowd that looks so dwarfed by the confines of Allianz Stadium would have a far more raucous feel to it in the more intimate setting of North Sydney Oval.
I was one of the 11,000-odd spectators at the last Waratahs home game against the Kings. The atmosphere was nigh-on non-existent. That may have been due to the shocking match we were all witnessing, but that the stadium was three-quarters empty was undoubtedly a contributing factor.
What harm could playing a game away from Moore Park do? If anything, wouldn’t it help rugby reach back out to the community at a time when the sport is in dire straits in the country?
I would have been all for the Waratahs taking the game somewhere else in the state – Newcastle, for example – but there certainly wasn’t enough time to organise such a significant change of venue. Moving to one of the smaller grounds in Sydney – be it North Sydney, Leichhardt or somewhere else – would have proved far less troublesome, and still opened up the Waratahs to new potential spectators.
Playing away from Allianz would have given the Waratahs a good, boutique-ground atmosphere, allowed them to – theoretically – reach a new batch of fans, and garnered a bit of goodwill while they were at it. Where’s the harm in that?
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Okay Roarers, it’s over to you now. Should the Waratahs have moved their game? Or were they right to stay at Allianz Stadium? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
Soccer players will always whinge
Guest
Any other sport must adapt and play to the conditions, yet soccer players will always find some reason to complain absolutely something. The Ref, the crowd, the diving, the opposition, the weather, the pitch. The game is on a Sunday. Rugby is on the Saturday. Get over with it. Rather than look for excuses in relation the the pitch, focus on your skills and game plans, and if all else fails they'll dive anyway!
Casual fan
Guest
Unfortunately the unsuitability of the pitch cuts both ways. In order to accomodate soccers preference for a smooth surface the curators need to cut the Grass too short for Rugby. A shorter grass means less root length and density and therefore the surface cuts up under a scrum. The games need to be played at different venues
Jo
Guest
The junior march past is also on and may have had something to do with the decision, this had been promoted to junior rugby clubs around the state...not quite sure marching around north Sydney oval would have as much impact on the kids as does going out into Allianz...
Taniwha
Roar Rookie
Jacko, you are wasting your time, the moose will never get it. As you said ''Same rules for black as for yellow''. That's why i was pissed off, plus the smug look on the security guard didn't help. I now spend my hard earned watching club footy and head over to NZ a few times a year for my live rugby fix.
double agent
Guest
Ever consider the possibility that the SCG and the Waratahs have a contract to play at Allianz?
Bridget
Guest
Yes the waratahs should have moved one of only 7 home games they have this season with 4 days notice. Reallocate every ticketed member and those who've already purchased tickets, change countless corporate boxes, game day advertising, traffic control and public transportation. Not to mention the 3500 junior rugby players in the march past on Saturday night. A month or so notice is goodwill, 4 days is beyond unreasonable
Bridget
Guest
Couldn't agree more, the logistics of moving the game so late would have been unimaginable. FFA trying the shift the blame for their own disorganization
wag
Guest
WHY , THEN, DOES THE FFA NOT PLAY THE GRAND FINAL AT HOMEBUSH??
Jacko
Guest
Read my comment Freddie...The EPL is different to "primarily football" You must be that Freddie I have heard about...BLIND
Jacko
Guest
I know spruce but if you keep trying you will get there in the end...Its all about perservering Moose
Bridget
Guest
For a game against a New Zealand team the waratahs would be expecting a bigger crowd than the 10-15k that could fit at north Sydney. Got 18k when they played a NZ side last month
Ken Spacey
Guest
You mean the one hosted and won by AUFC at Adelaide Oval?
Ken Spacey
Guest
So if FFA nominate a 2017/18 GF date right now, will the SCG Trust and the rugby codes respect that or would we still find them trying to pencil in Thursday, Friday or Saturday night games? Ditto other centres. It would be interesting to see how the Alan Jones Society would react to that. BTW is there any spare land or car parks near Allianz. At Japan's Sapporo Dome they keep nine full sized pitches in the car park and just wheel a new one in when the current one looks knackered.
In Brief
Guest
I take it you are joking?
Midfielder
Guest
Don't blame the Tahs ... Equally I don't accept the excuse the notice was too short with the NSW gov offering compensation and the corporate facilities at NSO are not that bad. Given Footballs player numbers and Rugby's falling numbers a possible outcome is Football going after union junior playing fields at park levels .... it can be little things that push buttons ...
Ken Spacey
Guest
What demand? The sport is actually called football and The FFA is in the AFC under Fifa. The main contention is that other folks have decided they should call use the informal name of soccer which the game's admin prefer not to.Frank Lowy wound up the former corporate entity of Soccer Australia so as a moderately experienced business man he realised the new entity needed to be distinctly different from the old. The name change was part of that deal and a conscious attempt to move on from the NSL era. I don't care how many codes put the F word in, but association football, the world's leading team sport has a right to that title too. To clarify this debate the FFA have a concern about the state of the pitch for a major event they have a booking for. There is no failure to book the venue.They are also trying to squeeze the game into a narrow window where there is a gap in the ACL which Brisbane were in and other years the Victory and SFC have been in. .
John P
Guest
For the record, I did some checking today with both ANZ Stadium & City Rail. This is what I discovered. ANZ Stadium was available this Saturday to host the Waratahs game. There were no NRL or other games scheduled for ANZ Stadium this weekend. Regarding trains to and from Olympic Park, City Rail told me that the only change this weekend is that from Lidcome train station to Olympic Park train station (one stop only), Buses will replace trains. Also, if the Waratahs played @ ANZ Stadium this Saturday, City Rail would have simply organised more buses to and from Lidcome station to handle the demand. Otherwise, all other train services to and from Olympic Park were operating normally. So ... I do not understand all this talk about North Sydney Oval. Just rubbish! ANZ Stadium WAS available to play the Waratahs game this Saturday. What is the Waratahs problem with ANZ Stadium? If ANZ Stadium was good enough to host the Olympic Games (the best Olympics ever), then I am sure it was good enough to host the Waratahs! The Waratahs simply want to play at Allianz Stadium as they deliberately want to damage the pitch to sabotage the A League Grand Final the next day. It's as simple as that. Two years ago, the AFL told the FFA to play the A League Grand Final at AAMI Park, instead of Etihad Stadium. So, all this is a common theme. Other football codes in Australia (AFL, Rugby, etc) want to damage soccer as much as possible. A complete disgrace! A national scandal!
Worlds Biggest
Guest
Very poor planning by the A-League, Sydney FC have been head n shoulders the best team all year, they were a good shot to host the GF. Why didn't the A-League approach the Tahs a month or two ago to have this discussion, not 5 days out. ANZ Stadium ironically will not host an event this weekend and could have comfortably hosted either event. It is ludicrous that this scenario has played out. I understand the Tahs standing there ground, they have a very important must win game, why should they move it. However had they been approached a couple of months ago and been compensated accordingly ( to move game to ANZ, Gosford or Newcastle ) then perhaps they might have considered it. Again this is totally on the A-League.
Mark
Guest
Agreed. Very amateur for it to happen once, let alone twice.
Mark
Guest
What an absolute toss you are.