Urgent repairs: ground staff replace a piece of turf at Allianz Stadium during a Super Rugby match last season. Credit:Mark Kolbe However, Northern Suburbs were told on Tuesday afternoon there would not be a Super Rugby match following their Shute Shield clash on Saturday. "We appreciate the efforts of Venues NSW, the Minister and the Waratahs to explore the option of moving Saturday night's rugby match," said FFA CEO David Gallop in a statement. "These things are always more complicated than perhaps first envisaged. The fact is our grand final deserves a world-class surface and the traffic on Allianz Stadium makes this a challenge. "The standard of the pitch last Saturday night had a noticeably detrimental effect on the play and we implore the [SCG] Trust to work hard on minimising the impact of the rugby match to ensure the Hyundai A-League grand final is played on a surface that befits the occasion and the stature of the Grand Final as one of Australia's showpiece sporting events." The Waratahs also released a statement, saying: "Saturday's Super Rugby game against the Auckland Blues will remain at Allianz Stadium.

North Sydney Oval is a popular venue in club rugby. Credit:Getty Images "While consideration was given to the request made by NSW government late on Monday 1 May, out of interest for the NSW Waratahs fans and supporters as well as other stakeholders, the game will remain at the Tahs' home ground, Allianz Stadium." The FFA, SCG Trust are set to meet on Tuesday in a last minute bid to salvage the state of the field by trying to convince the Waratahs of moving Saturday's game. Waratahs assistant coach Nathan Grey on Tuesday hinted his side would prefer to play at Allianz but said he would leave the decision in the hands of those above him. "It's a great boutique ground but it's not Allianz is it?" Grey said. "In terms of the decision-making, that's out of our control.

"There's a lot of key stakeholders involved in that. It's not just a matter of going, 'oh, we'll jump and play at North Sydney'. For us as a team, Allianz is our home. We're looking forward to playing there and we're preparing to play there. "We're just getting ready to play the Blues. We'll play them in the car park if we have to." A spokesperson for the venue informed Fairfax Media they were approached by the NSW government on Monday to relinquish the match with a view for the game to be moved to either North Sydney Oval or ANZ Stadium. Allianz Stadium took measures to limit the damage of the field for football with Sydney FC the major tenant of the stadium. Groundsmen have reduced painted advertising signs on the field which damages grass and harms growth, particularly during winter. Sydney FC requested NRL curtain raisers not be played before main games as the standard of Allianz Stadium's deck has undergone an alarming drop-off in recent weeks amid heavy cross-code traffic from rugby and NRL.