I may have heard wrongly a few weeks back,but what I heard is that footy is played on rye grass, a winter grass and cricket is played on something different, that is supposed to grow when the rye dies back. Apparently it didn't grow too well. As the weather cools the rye will come back and the surface will improve, but at the start of the season there may be a few rough patches, though not as bad as the dome has been in the past.