Etihad surface unsafe - AFLPA | Thebigtip

Etihad games may have to be moved - AFLPA - by Will Brodie at SMH

The AFL Players Association wants the AFL to consider relocating games from Etihad Stadium if the venue's surface does not improve.

AFLPA chief executive Matt Finnis said the standard of the surface in Friday night’s game between St Kilda and Hawthorn was the worst he had seen at the stadium, and that he watched the game hoping no player would be seriously injured.

Finnis said elite players were "slipping over like B-grade amateurs" during the drawn match, refuting the perception that the player’s body has not done enough to demand better playing conditions for its members.

"Player welfare is our primary consideration…" Finnis told SEN radio this morning.

"Not withstanding injuries, it was a game played in conditions which are unacceptable for the style and standard of the game that is played in 2010," Finnis said later in the day.

"The majority of players have indicated that if we can’t improve on the situation it’s time the matter of the relocation of games be at least canvassed."

He said his organisation was making "direct representations" to "those with the responsibility and authority to provide a safe workplace" for players.

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