Brownlow Medallist Gerard Healy has tried to dispel the myth about the size of the SCG.
While the SCG is the smallest home ground of an AFL club in terms of end-to-end length, measuring in at 155 metres, it doesn’t hold that title by a large margin.
Looking at other grounds, the Gabba measures 156 metres in length, while the MCG – which is considered a big ground, measures 160 metres.
In terms of width, the SCG measures in at 136 metres, bigger than Perth Stadium (130 metres), GIANTS Stadium (128 metres), Marvel Stadium (129 metres), Adelaide Oval (123 metres) and GMHBA Stadium (115 metres).
While Healy concedes that the SCG was once small, the playing surface has been progressively lengthened since 2007 and as a result, the Swans great is sick of hearing the chatter surrounding the ground’s dimensions.
Healy: “Can I just go to one of my favourite topics? That is the ground size of the SCG.
“It's not that small.”
Cornes: “It felt small as a player though. I don't know if it was an optical illusion when you’re out there.”
Healy: “You went in there with your brain subconsciously thinking it was small and that was beaten in there.
“Ultimately, it was small in the 80s, but it isn’t now.
“If you bounced the ball in the centre square, it is now 2.5 metres shorter to run it through the goals than the MCG.
“That's not a long way.”
Cornes: “Maybe it was ‘Roosy’ (Paul Roos) who played this tight sort of style where it was impossible to get a kick and you felt like it was congested and small.
“That’s a good reminder.”
Healy: “But it just permeates through to everybody including Swans players.
“I heard one Swans player say, ‘It'll be great to get back on the small SCG’.
“It's not really that different to the Brisbane Lions’ ground, it's about one metre of difference and we never talk about the Gabba being a small ground.”
The SCG hosts the 2024 season-opening game on Thursday night when Sydney face Melbourne from 7:30 pm (AEDT).
