South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas has teed off on a “galling” request from the Adelaide Crows for financial compensation in return for the Sheffield Shield final to be played at the Adelaide Oval days out from their third-round match.
The SA government, Cricket Australia and the AFL are currently working towards staging the Shield final at the Adelaide Oval in between Port Adelaide’s round-one match against Richmond on Saturday, March 22 and Adelaide’s round three game against North Melbourne the following Sunday.
It has been proposed that the Shield final would begin on Monday, March 24 and conclude on Friday, March 28.
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South Australian premier Peter Malinauskas. 9News
“The AFL does not want to move their fixtures at all for cricket,” Nine’s chief AFL reporter told Footy Classified on Tuesday.
The drop-in pitches used during cricket season have already been removed from the Adelaide Oval ahead of the Crows’ season-opener on Sunday, March 16.
However, the curators and ground staff believe three pitches could be dropped in for the cricket final and then swiftly removed with minimal impact to the playing surface.
Malinauskas is desperate to put the Shield final on the Adelaide Oval, with South Australia having last won it in 1996.
South Australia has secured hosting rights after finishing at the top of the ladder.
On Wednesday, Malinauskas revealed that a “request” for cash had been made by the Crows before stating that he hoped the club’s financial pursuit would not get in the way of the government’s plan.
Crows fans celebrates a goal during a Crows match at Adelaide Oval last season. Getty
“We have received a request. It’s not from cricket [and] I won’t say what entity it is in footy,” he told Adelaide radio station FIVEAA before confirming the petition came from the Crows.
“What I would say is we are asking for people to act rationally and pragmatically in the interest of fans.
“The South Australian government has already shown an awful lot of support to both footy clubs locally, particularly the Adelaide footy club.
“I’ve got to say, it’s a little bit galling that people are trying to use an opportunity to look after fans as an opportunity to slug the taxpayer and I won’t be having it.
“Just handing over cash is not something that I’ll be doing. I hope this doesn’t get in the way of it.
“I’m not naming any names, I’m just saying my government is not going to be giving cash so they get out of the way of something everybody thinks should happen.”
Darcy Fogarty of the Crows heads off the ground after his side’s loss during the round six AFL match between Adelaide and Essendon at the Adelaide Oval. Getty
The main concern from the Crows’ perspective is the health and safety of the players.
To accommodate the cricket, which requires shorter grass, the outfield would be cut to 15 millimetres with the hope that it grows back to the regulated 20mm for the Crows’ game.
Earlier this week, South Australian coach Ryan Harris noted that the event was “gaining momentum”, while AFL chief executive Andrew Dillon confirmed the league was happy to explore the proposal, given it fits into its fixture.
“Like we do with other sports where we have a scheduling clash, we’re fortunate to play in the best stadiums in Australia across all of our capital cities, and we know those stadiums get built and operate because they are multi-sport,” Dillon said.
“If it can be accommodated within our schedule, we absolutely would look at that.”
South Australia’s opponent will be decided in this weekend’s final round of Sheffield Shield matches.