1 month ago
26
Geelong boss Chris Scott has hit out at the Sydney Cricket Ground, claiming that the turf looked more like a cricket pitch in India than a footy oval.
It came as the Cats kept the pressure on Adelaide at the top of the AFL ladder, after his side cruised past Sydney, securing a 43-point victory, even without their star man, Jeremy Cameron, scoring a goal.
While Sydney has been struck by a deluge of rain over the past few months, the veteran footy coach was not at all happy about the playing surface, claiming the centre square was rock solid.
He took a walk out to the middle of the footy field to check over the SCG’s turf.
Alongside the Gabba, SCG grounds staff chose to leave the turf wicket in place during the winter months, while other grounds like the MCG and the Optus Stadium remove the wicket during the footy season.
Scott did commend the grounds staff for their work preparing what was a lovely surface but then questioned the centre square.
Chris Scott took a swipe at the famous pitch at the Sydney Cricket Ground, claiming the centre square was 'like Mumbai'
Scott also claimed that the SCG had covered up the centre square in order to protect the cricket pitch from the rain before Geelong were set to perform a captain's run
‘The actual surface looks beautiful, the rye grass is quite soft, I know there’s been a lot of rain up here,' he said.
‘But it’s the contrast between quite soft area outside the centre square and then pretty rock-hard centre wicket area — it’s just not conducive to AFL football.
‘That’s for them to work through, but my position would be, if you think that’s optimal for AFL football, you don’t understand what’s optimal for AFL football.
'It looked like Mumbai out there,' he added.
‘But again, not my concern, really. Well, it was my concern today, but I wouldn’t read too much into my body language.’
Geelong had held a captain’s run at the SCG earlier this week, but Scott stated that in order to protect the centre of the pitch from the rain, the SCG had covered the centre square.
‘I wasn’t that worried; it was exactly what we expected. We rocked up here yesterday and the centre wicket’s covered,” he said.
‘I’m not sure there’s much point having a training session the day before when the pitch is covered — it’s pretty much the reason we’re here.’
Cats spearhead Cameron was held goalless as the visitors posted a 16.15 (111) to 10.8 (68) result in front of 37,565 fans at the SCG on Sunday.
Geelong had held a captain’s run at the SCG earlier this week, but Scott stated that in order to protect the centre of the pitch from the rain, the SCG had covered the centre square
Jeremy Cameron endured a difficult outing with the Cats spearhead failing to score a goal
Scott's side should easily wrap up second spot for the finals with lowly Richmond up next for their final home-and-away clash.
Ladder leaders Adelaide, who are one game clear, will also be heavily favoured to beat strugglers North Melbourne.
Geelong would gain home team designation for their finals if they finish top two, but the AFL has said they would be at the MCG rather than the Cats' GMBHA Stadium.
"Our ambition is just to win the next game and I think that would get us a home final," Scott said.
"The language around, 'Oh, we won't settle for anything less', it implies that if there was less on the line that we'd try less.
"I just don't subscribe to that theory. We should be trying to get every single bit right now."
Cameron was looking to make strides towards becoming the first player since Lance Franklin in 2008 to reach 100 goals in a season.
Instead, Cameron - who leads the league on 79 goals - finished with just 10 touches and one behind under close attention from Sydney defender Tom McCartin.
Shannon Neale was electric early with four goals in the first half, while Tyson Stengle and Shaun Mannagh slotted three goals apiece.
Cats midfielder Bailey Smith collected 30 touches and five clearances.
Cats midfielder Bailey Smith collected 30 touches and five clearances during the match
Geelong coach Scott pulled all the right levers to limit Sydney's midfield stars, with Mark O'Connor brilliant in a tagging role on proven match-winner Isaac Heeney.
Heeney (one goal, 15 disposals) could not contain his frustration and gave away three free kicks to the Cats defender for high blows and a dangerous tackle.
Isaac Heeney's free kick was reversed following this "high contact" push.#AFLSwansCats pic.twitter.com/Y7crDbA4vR
- 7AFL (@7AFL) August 17, 2025
"The only discussion I had with Isaac is to worry about what he can control," Swans coach Dean Cox said.
"Frustration can get the best of you and it happened a couple of times tonight."
Errol Gulden and Chad Warner had little say, while Pete Ladhams impressed (two goals, 35 hitouts) as a fill-in for concussed Swans ruck Brodie Grundy.
Sydney had started brightly and kept Geelong goalless until near the 20-minute mark of the first quarter.
But the Swans fumbled their 20-point lead, with Neale kicking two goals to fire the Cats ahead.
Ladhams responded to draw scores level at 4.3 (27) at quarter-time, with Cats ruck Mark Blicavs spraying his after-the-siren snap from the boundary.
A rare McCartin goal helped the Swans regain the lead but it didn't last long.
Geelong wrestled back momentum with two Neale goals and built a nine-point lead at halftime when Stengle kicked his first major.
The home side slotted only one goal in the third quarter before Tom Papley reached the 300-goal mark with a long bomb from just outside the 50m arc.
