One round into the 2019 AFL season and surfaces around the country are already being called into question.
At Marvel Stadium, it's not for the same reason as the "death valley" days -- when it was barren brown and rock hard -- but because of the loosely rooted grass on the Medallion Club wing, which is easily displaced under foot.
It seemed to play a part in the minor injuries of Gold Coast co-skipper David Swallow and Dogs' defender Matt Suckling, and in the immediate wash-up to the week of footy, critics have been crowing about how this could happen just one week into the year.
GWS board member Jimmy Bartel was a vociferous critic, accusing the AFL of not caring about its own venue.
Put simply, Marvel Stadium is the world's busiest natural grass stadium. It doesn't need to be, however.
Late last year, ESPN spoke with head of arena management at Marvel Stadium, Gavin Darby, who discussed intricately the challenges associated with maintaining a roofed natural grass stadium which is so busy.
In 2018, it hosted more than 70 events on the ground, including concerts, A-League games, cricket matches, graduations and an evangelical gathering. For most of these events, trucks haul tonnes of equipment onto the playing surface before they're called back to remove everything, often just 24 hours later.
"It's a challenge, but we enjoy it. [We are] the busiest natural grass stadium in the world, and it's challenge to deliver a suitable surface for every event, but that's our goal," Darby said in December.
It's a thankless job at times, and a bloody tough one. Even with the issues the stadium currently faces, more than 90 percent of the surface is in pristine condition - a minor miracle considering the long list of events which have taken place on the ground since Round 23, 2018.
But now that the AFL own the stadium, it has the opportunity to make life easier for ground staff and ensure the safety of players at the stadium moving forward. Put simply, they need to schedule fewer events at the ground, limit the number of damaging concerts, and ensure there's enough time between the last non-footy event and Round 1.
Of course, this will mean sacrificing revenue, but if "optics" and player welfare are of paramount importance -- which they should be -- the decision should be a no-brainer.
The solution the AFL has offered this week is that they'll just replace the turf from the stocks they have growing up in country Victoria. In theory, a good idea, but the reality is the grass needs sufficient light, water and most importantly, time, to grip and root in the ground.
The likely result of rolling out new turf ahead of Round 2 is much the same as the current issue - loose, sandy soil that is a hazard to players, umpires and fans having a kick-to-kick.