PORT ADELAIDE coach Mark Williams has expressed concern for player safety ahead of Sunday’s game against the Swans at the SCG.

The ground hosted the Pura Cup final just ten days ago and Williams is worried the pitch that aligns with the centre square will be rock hard and dangerous for both teams.

“The pitch had better be in good shape because they played a cricket game there about a week ago,” Williams said.

“History shows that it’s usually like a rock, so I’m saying they better make sure it's safe for our players.

“Believe me, Paul Roos would be thinking exactly the same thing as me.

“Don’t be thinking this is just a Port Adelaide whinge - this is about two coaches who are concerned about their players and if the pitch is as hard as I suspect it will be, we’ll both be concerned until the end of the game to make sure all the players get through.”

Williams also vented his frustration at not being able to train on the ground prior to the game and offered an alternate venue should the SCG be deemed unsafe to play on.

“Unfortunately we’re not able to train on the ground beforehand which is one of my biggest bugbears when it comes to Brisbane and Sydney.

“I encourage the AFL to see what they can do in this situation…in our tenth year of asking about it.

“I think AAMI Stadium is available on Sunday, so I’m sure the AFL could swap the game. What do you think?”

But SCG spokesman Greg Campbell refuted Williams' concerns about the state of the playing surface, saying it had passed some stringent tests from the AFL.

"The AFL have sent out their grounds people and the ground is all within the AFL's normal ranges," he said.

"The tests have all been conducted over the past week and again today and it's all within the AFL's range of match conditions.

"As of 1pm today (AEDT) that was again the case.

"Mark Williams wouldn't even have seen the ground, so I'm not sure why he would be making a comment on it."