Accor's long-serving curator reveals tip-top turf for Sunday

Despite facing some wild weather to end the week, Accor Stadium’s Head Curator Graeme Logan has guaranteed the Grand Final stage will be in "tip-top shape" as the countdown continues to Sunday’s Battle of the West.

Before the COVID pandemic forced last year's Grand Final to be shifted to Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium, Sydney's Olympic stadium had played host to every Grand Final since 1999 - and Logan has been there for all of them.

With 83,000 supporters set to descend on the precinct to witness a Western Sydney battle for the ages, Logan and his team have been working tirelessly to ensure each and every blade of grass is manicured meticulously.

“We’re lucky we’ve had a lot of practice this year for this kind of weather,” Logan told NRL.com on Friday.

“You just change your strategies a bit where you aerate a lot more to facilitate the rain because playing in the wet does eventually do a bit of damage to the turf but we’ve been able to get it through.

“We do want to see a bit of sun. But we’ve done a lot of preventative aeration just to facilitate any more extra rain so we’re in good shape.

“She’ll be right to go on Sunday.”

A veteran of 40 years in the business, Logan knows every blade of grass at Accor Stadium but says he'll feel the pressure "just like the players" on Sunday.

“We’ve got four permanent team members and we work on a seven-day rotational roster, so there’s always someone here doing something to keep it in shape,” he said.

“It’s just like the players, Grand Final is the end of the year for us. We’ve worked all year to produce a surface like this and if you get it right at the end of the year, you’ve done your job.

“The eyes are on you, everyone will want a piece of you if it’s not right, so the pressure is on to get it right at the end of the year. You’re a part of the big picture I suppose.”

A second-rower with the Parramatta Two Blues in his heyday, Logan said he will be proudly cheering for the Eels in the decider.

“It’s the icing on the cake for us to have the Grand Final back at Accor and having two Sydney teams, it’s a fairytale finish,” he said.

“I’m a bit of an Eels tragic. I played footy for Parramatta and I was the first Curator at Parramatta Stadium for 18 years.

“And I’ve been at Homebush now for 22 years, so I’ve been at it for a while now.”