A request from the Australian Football League for the grass at the Adelaide Oval to remain at a longer length for the match between Adelaide and Fremantle on Saturday "will deny Western Sydney Wanderers and Adelaide United the chance to familiarise themselves with playing conditions at the ground until their warm-up before kick-off on Sunday," according to Dominic Bossi of THE AGE.
The grass height at Adelaide Oval "will remain at the AFL-decreed 28mm for Saturday afternoon's match between Adelaide Crows and Fremantle Dockers, some 3mm longer than the maximum allowed in the A-League."
While seemingly minimal, an extra 3mm in grass height "will significantly slow the pace of the ball across the surface." Sources fear the pre-game grass height "will detract from the preparations of two teams that play a fast-paced, short passing game."
Western Sydney Wanderers "are set to travel to Adelaide on Friday ahead of their grand final but are yet to commit to training at Adelaide Oval." With the grass height outside of football requirements "there are concerns that a training session at the venue would be pointless."
Due to the AFL match on Saturday, "both Western Sydney and Adelaide will be forced to conduct their last training sessions before the grand final at Coopers Stadium in Hindmarsh, where the surface is one of the best in the A-League, cut specifically for football" (THE AGE, 4/25).
FLIGHT SHORTAGE: The AAP reported limited flight availability from Sydney to Adelaide in the days around Sunday's A-League grand final "has seen one-way airfares rise in some instances" to more than A$1,000 ($770).
With a high number of traveling Western Sydney fans looking to support their team's bid for a breakthrough A-League title, "at least one of the airlines have confirmed that they will increase the capacity on the route."
Virgin Australia "announced it will increase the number of flights between the destinations for the fixture, with Qantas looking to follow suit" (AAP, 4/25).
