Etihad turf must improve, says AFL

[one-eyed]

Thank goodness we hardly play on the ice rink 


AFL OPERATIONS manager Adrian Anderson says the League was “very disappointed” with the slipperiness of the Etihad Stadium turf during the match between Hawthorn and St Kilda last Friday night.

“It’s important that the stadium has acknowledged it needs to be significantly better,” Anderson said.

“From our point of view, it was far too slippery. In every game you see, there are some slips, but there were far too many [on Friday night].

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/99045/default.aspx

[wayne]

But Ian Collins says there is nothing wrong with it!! 

[one-eyed]

Etihad surface worries Cousins
July 27, 2010 - 2:09PM
AAP

Richmond veteran Ben Cousins says he takes a more conservative approach to playing at Etihad Stadium because of the poor surface at the AFL venue.

Cousins was known for his relentless running and attack on the ball at the peak of his powers, but said the shifting turf at the roofed stadium always played in the back of his mind when he played there.

"Whole pieces of grass move out from underneath your foot, there's no real knitting in it into the soil," Cousins told radio station Nova on Tuesday.

"I haven't played there for a few weeks, but it's a bit of a concern.

"You have to approach the footy or turning slightly differently.

"You have to be a bit apprehensive in the way you turn and be less ballistic."

Last Friday night's game between Hawthorn and St Kilda, where players constantly slipped over, prompted a crisis meeting on Monday between the AFL Players' Association, the league and Etihad Stadium management.

Stadium management will implement more measures in the lead-up to this weekend's games, including adding top soil and aerating the turf in a bid to provide players with more traction.

The AFLPA has called for the relocation of games to be considered if there is no improvement in the surface, and warned the condition of the ground could prompt legal action if a player suffers a serious injury.

Cousins' Tigers are out of the running for the finals, but he said he would hate to see a side's premiership aspirations de-railed because of an injury at the ground.

"I'd hate to see one of the finals contenders have their chances deep in September diminished because one of their key players goes down with an unnecessary injury at Etihad," Cousins said.

"If that happens there'll be huge concerns, massive dramas.

"I'm sure it's a big enough issue now that something will be done about it."

Of the main premiership contenders, St Kilda play another four games at Etihad Stadium over the remaining five home and away rounds, the Western Bulldogs have three, Geelong play there twice, but Collingwood and Hawthorn have no more.

http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-sport/etihad-surface-worries-cousins-20100727-10to8.html

[dizza]

Thank goodness we hardly play on the ice rink 

agreed! fans hate going there, the players hate playing on it... we'd be better off playing home games at Punt Rd.

[mightytiges]

agreed! fans hate going there, the players hate playing on it... we'd be better off playing home games at Punt Rd.

A couple of years ago you could show playing home games at Docklands costs us 5000 in lost crowd numbers.

Not sure what they can do with the surface now the stadium has been built and built the wrong way. 10 years old and they still can't get the surface right  . Do they have to bite the bullet, come up with the $$$ and redesign the roof and north side and replace it with a mostly transparent substance such as glass or perspex.