Independent testing commissioned by the NRL has assured officials Suncorp Stadium will be safe to host a bumper Magic Round despite another weekend of the surface being carved up by rival football codes.
Brisbane’s premier venue hosted the Broncos-Rabbitohs NRL clash on Friday night and then the Super Rugby match between the Reds and Force 24 hours later, and the surface began to show clear signs of wear and tear by the end of the rugby clash.
Magic Round will feature eight matches over three days at a time when a number of clubs have already sought exemptions this year to name 23-man squads due to crippling injury tolls.
The NRL insists the surface will be suitable for the rugby league extravaganza, however.
“We’ve had an independent inspection carried out and management has been put in place between our consultant and the stadium management,” NRL head of football Graham Annesley said.
“We’re confident that the surface is going to be safe. It will suffer some wear and tear across the course of the weekend, but that happens every year at Magic Round.
“They’ve got the whole week to prepare it and there will be measures they put in place to ensure it’s in the best possible condition it will be in. The inspection we’ve commissioned has confirmed it’s safe to play.
The Suncorp Stadium surface was chewed up by the Reds and Western Force on Saturday night.Credit: Stan Rugby
“They’ll continue working on it over the weekend, but the overriding factor is we’ve been assured it will be safe.”
The surface is expected to come under most strain on the final day of Magic Round, in which three matches will be played. The Tigers and Dragons will clash on Sunday afternoon before the Roosters-Cowboys and Eels-Titans round out the weekend.
Brisbane is due to have a fine week of weather with temperatures in the mid-20s throughout and little chance of rain.
Meanwhile, Tigers centre Brent Naden is facing a long stint on the sideline after he was hit with a grade-two shoulder charge in his club’s stirring win over the Panthers in Bathurst on Saturday night.
Magic Round at Suncorp Stadium in 2022.Credit: Getty
Naden, who had only just returned from injury, will miss three matches with an early guilty plea for the collision with Zac Hosking. Naden was sent to the sin bin as a result.
But Panthers hooker Soni Luke has escaped a ban despite being the latest player to be in the spotlight over a hip-drop tackle, offered a $1000 fine for a tackle on Alex Twal which prompted his sin-binning.
Manly’s Tof Sipley is also poised to be missing until the State of Origin period after the match-review committee levelled a grade-two crusher tackle charge against him for an incident involving Titans winger Phil Sami.
He will miss three matches with an early guilty plea or four if he unsuccessfully fights it at the judiciary.
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