Bankwest Stadium management insist their turf is stable despite the Sydney Roosters losing two players to serious knee injuries against St George Illawarra.

Victor Radley and Sam Verrills went down untouched in the opening 22 minutes, with the ground looking patchy following its recent heavy workload.

The Roosters fear both have suffered torn anterior cruciate ligaments.

Radley went down after charging out of the line in defence in the eighth minute.

Verrills followed him 14 minutes later, going down as he took a simple run mid-field and falling before the defensive line.

While there was no formal complaint, and no suggestion at this point the surface contributed to the injuries, a Roosters trainer is believed to have told the NRL’s ground manager boots had been getting stuck in the surface.

“The stadium turf has been holding up well under a heavy playing schedule,” a Bankwest Stadium spokesman said.

“Signs of wear and tear are a result of the winter rye grass not getting sufficient time to grow between events, but pre-game testing indicates the surface is stable and safe.

“Any injuries to players are a concern. The stadium team will work with the NRL and clubs to ensure the best possible surface for each and every game.”

Already without James Tedesco (concussion) and Josh Morris (calf) the Roosters were stretched to the limit in terms of player availability.

Both teams scored two tries in the opening 40 minutes to go to the break level at 10-10.

With NRL venues limited during the coronavirus, there will have been 11 matches in 22 days at Bankwest by the end of this weekend.

There are three more scheduled for next weekend, with clubs preferring the venue given it can host 7,500 fans from next month – around three times more than suburban grounds.

The NRL moved a game from Campbelltown to Kogarah this weekend in a bid to play on a fresh surface.

Brett Morris had the Roosters’ first when they spread it across field, allowing him to bounce his way across the line.

Joseph Manu, deputising for Tedesco at fullback, then had one of the plays of the season for the Roosters’ second.

He chased through on his own bomb to leap high and take the ball from Matt Dufty, before flicking it back for Jared Waerea-Hargreaves to score.

The Dragons hit back when Dufty cut out two men with a bullet pass to put Mikaele Ravalawa over on the left wing.

Dufty was in the centre of the action again for the Dragons’ second, when he found a flying Zac Lomax who ran a nice inside line to go over and level the scores.