SURFACE TENSION
Blundstone unfit for finals footy, says Bomber
LAUDERDALE coach Darren Winter has slammed the condition of Blundstone Arena, declaring a rock hard centre square unfit for TSL finals football.
After masterminding the final quarter blowout of Clarence last Saturday — which has set up a showdown with North Launceston this weekend where the winner will advance to the grand final — Winter has urged AFL Tasmania to consider moving remaining matches in the south to North Hobart Oval.
He said a host of his players had pulled up sore from the taxing affair against the Roos, as well as suffering abrasions from the centre wicket area.
With the Bombers guaranteed to play one more match at Blundstone, either the preliminary final or the grand final, Winter wants the league to take action.
“The ground was pretty dangerous in the middle . . . it was actually cracked in the middle, they [his players] have lots of grazes and cuts from burns,” Winter said.
“I understand they have to get it ready for cricket season, but if that’s the case, move it to the home of footy at North Hobart. Player safety has to come first, we won’t want to play on that ground again if the middle of the ground is like that.
“The two designated grounds [for finals] are York Park [UTas Stadium] and Bellerive, that is where they will be played, but if they can’t get it ready for a football game, I think they would have to look to change the venues.”
State League general manager Carl Saunder admitted the centre square was hard when he walked across it, but stopped short of calling it concerning.
Saunder said the league would continue to work with Blundstone Arena management to ensure conditions were suitable for the remainder of the finals series, with Clarence to host Launceston this weekend.
He also refused to rule out moving venues, but said it would be a last resort.
“We did a ground inspection Friday morning and then our usual match day inspection Saturday morning and signed off on the ground,” Saunder said.
“I’m not a turf expert, what I know is I walked out there myself between the two senior games and then again at halftime and it was certainly hard. But it was also 18C and sunny. We would look at that [shifting venues] at the time whether it was appropriate or not, but we would use the experts on how hard is too hard.”
Blundstone venue manager Stephen McMullen had no issues with the square block, and said it passed all tests with flying colours.
“We have spoken to AFL Tasmania . . . and they said it was acceptable,” McMullen said. “We do the clegg hammer testing for all AFL matches, that was done at the last game and it passed with flying colours.”