The Dome is improving in its status all the time, although Leigh Matthews is still concerned about the quality of the playing surface:

http://www.realfooty.theage.com.au/r...911412259.html

However, Mike Sheahan (Herald-Sun) reckons the quality of the football is better because of lack of wind:

THERE'S a recurring theme about football matches at Telstra Dome, and it is eroding the status of the most revered venue in Australian sport.

The once-reviled Docklands stadium now is the favourite venue for so many football-lovers who grew up with the MCG as their temple. I am one.

Eight of my favourite 10 games since 2000 have unfolded at Telstra Dome.

The intensity and standard of play under the roof, coupled with the atmosphere generated by crowds up to 55,000, has created a unique experience.

Telstra Dome is a modern, boutique stadium that lends itself to supporter involvement we haven't seen before.

Veteran football followers still marvel at the package they enjoyed when St Kilda outgunned the Brisbane Lions on Saturday night.

Even allowing for the major renovations under way at the MCG, and what will be a magnificent stadium in 2006, TD has delivered indoor footy on a grand scale and we devour it week after week.

Saturday told a telling tale.

Sydney, sixth, played Essendon, eighth, at the MCG in the afternoon. The conditions, including showers, affected the skills; the bulk of the 38,946 spectators shivered through an uneventful contest.

That night, more than 52,539 people were oblivious to the elements as St Kilda, first, and Brisbane, third, went at each other for more than two hours at mind-boggling speed.

They sat closer to the action at the smaller, more intimate stadium.

They saw the emerging Saints survive Brisbane's best for the second year running, with noise levels occasionally reaching rock concert heights.

Bulldogs ruckman Luke Darcy said yesterday the MCG remained his favourite venue, but admitted the noise generated under the TD roof was unique.

Telstra Dome's evolution is complete now management seems to have eliminated the long-running turf problem.

While players still seem to slip more than they do at the MCG, the game is played at a frenetic pace.

Given the near-perfect conditions, the playing field seems like a pinball machine, with the ball moving at speed that defies football conventions.

If you need proof of how much better the modern game is, watch two good teams play each other at Telstra Dome.

It is, despite its premature opening, a host of early blunders, and long-running turf problems, a winner.

The ticketing problems have been minimised and the movement of people in and out of the stadium is much smoother.

Ground parking fees are high enough ($14) to interest the fraud squad, the siren sounds tinny, and the scoreboard attendants are over-zealous censors, yet everything else seems just about perfect.

The MCG always will be home to the biggest games of the year but bigger doesn't necessarily mean better these days.

Test the theory in August, when the MCG hosts three Friday night games in a row, while Telstra Dome will be in operation on Saturday nights.