Gore Hill - ACL grave yard?

[redsox]

rumours are just that...rumours so i am prepared for someone to call bu!!@@@@@ on this...and this may upset some from North Shore but that is not the aim

I have heard rumour that there have been a few ( a couple each week so far) ACL's popping on the new surface at Gore Hill. this is a disaster if true and related to the new surface

Can anyone comment if they have heard or seen more than expected

I hope it is just rumour as the last thing any club needs is people doing serious injury (regardless of the ground)

[Pekay]

The Jets had numerous injuries from Rd 1 - unsure if any cruciate ligaments were mentioned though.

My brother umpired 2 games in a row and said the heat off the surface is awful.

[Footy Barista]

I am hearing the swans academy trained there last week and the centre circle surface has already raised, alot of players complaining about Infected cuts also.

I have no idea how it was approved without a testing period.

It is not very spectator friendly, the angle is out of whack with the change rooms behind the ground

[the jackal]

I saw one of the injuries last game there and it had nothing to do with the ground surface -- the Bomber got hit flush on the side of the knee. I've also heard nothing about "infected cuts" either, especially nothing from players who have played at least 3 games there not just trained like the academy.

[Footy Barista]

I saw one of the injuries last game there and it had nothing to do with the ground surface -- the Bomber got hit flush on the side of the knee. I've also heard nothing about "infected cuts" either, especially nothing from players who have played at least 3 games there not just trained like the academy.

I didnt hear it via swans academy players, general chat.

Time will tell won't it

[saviour01]

I know with the soccer fields in the shire that have been done there have been lots of complaints about injuries - a lot more than you'd get on normal fields. Can imagine it would be much worse for AFL than soccer.

[The Runner]

I saw one of the injuries last game there and it had nothing to do with the ground surface -- the Bomber got hit flush on the side of the knee. I've also heard nothing about "infected cuts" either, especially nothing from players who have played at least 3 games there not just trained like the academy.

Well that solves that. Case closed.

[5yearplan]

Only a matter of time until a post came on this one.

We are at Round 3 and we are already making calls on this ground.

I think you really need to have it go for a season to make any calls.

The way North Shore has started again it is looking like it might be a graveyard to opposing teams.

North Shores injuries will be the litmus test as they will play on this most of the season.

There are plenty of grass grounds still and in the past which would of been way worse than the new ground at Gore Hill

[Norris Lurker]

The old Gore Hill was a disaster on that front, with the concrete cricket pitch and by the June long weekend you struggled to find a blade of grass. Not to mention the glue-pot at the northern goalsquare - I did a hammy there goal umpiring.
When you compare the surface to what was there before, it's an improvement. There's no way the old surface would have coped with 6 games & 4 training sessions every week, plus the juniors and everyone else who uses it.

[Pmcc2911]

There have been maybe 12 senior games so far this year (maybe similar number of junior games) not counting trials plus countless training sessions and to my knowledge there has been 1 ACL injury.
Anecdotally there has been a significant reduction in concussion injuries.
There has been a increase in “grass burns” and they are more noticeable than previous. There have been no reports of infections but it has been raised as a possibility and players have been told to be cautious.
Over all the players like the even consistent bounce and the even give of the surface when running.
Understand the AFL are/have commissioned research across the season with the players to get s better understanding of the outcomes.
Yes the ground is definitely hotter than grass but daytime temps have been hotter than normal anyway. Will have to wait and see how that changes as the ambient temperatures reduce.

[Jupiter]

Massive hats off to Nth Shore for getting the development done! Time will tell on any surface issues (I trust them and the AFL are watching closely) but given the state of the ground and the site, not to mention the demand to use it, I think its a courageous innovation. Artificial or part artificial has to be a part of the answer in Sydney - Nth Shore are in the vanguard of this with Gore Hill.

[bomber.]

Bit of a storm in a tea cup at this stage re serious injuries.
There have been some scrapes and burns, but there would have been scrapes and scratches on the old deck too that would have gotten much worse as the season went on.
There have been about 30 senior games (mens and womens) played on the new surface now and the injury rate has actually been fairly low.
There have been a couple of knee injuries of varying severity. Never good, but it happens in our game and as mentioned above, the injuries that have occurred have been contact related (side on contact). It'd be a fair stretch to say they're related to the surface.
The curiosity about the surface is understandable, but other than when it's been hot, the feedback about it has been good. In hot weather the surface does get hot. That'll sometimes be an issue in March and early April. It's still playable though and other side of that equation is that it will give a much more stable deck when it rains - particularly compared to the old surface. Swings and roundabouts.
The Swans Academy 18's trained there last Thursday, in fairly hot conditions, and I understand the feedback about the ground was okay.
In the first 3 rounds of the AFL season (so 27 games) there were something like 13 serious knee injuries. I also recall Erin Phillips going down with one in the AFLW final. Those injuries occurred to the fittest players, who are specifically prepared to minimise knee injuries, on the best grounds. Gore Hill has gone a lot better in comparison, so maybe the AFL should change all their grounds over to artificial surfaces like Gore Hill!!
There are a hell of a lot of games played at Gore Hill now and given the nature of our game there will be injuries. Because the surface is new some people will connect the two, but so far it looks like the surface might actually reduce injury rates.

[justabaraker]

I sneaked a look last week during a visit to the hospital - it looked a bit uneven to me - crimped perhaps.

Has anyone else noticed that or was I just high on hospital gasses ?

And how do they secure the playing surface to the soil underneath ?

[bomber.]

Not crimped, ripplied et etc. It'd be the most even surface in Sydney.

[Norris Lurker]

At some stage this year we'll have one of those weeks when there's several days of rain in a row and there's mass ground closures across Sydney. That's when we'll really see the benefit.