Etihad Stadium - Why are we allowing games to still be played at this s**t hole?

[STP18]

The Crows , well the Crows fans were concerned over Brad Crouch playing at Etihad after his foot issues. You do sometimes have to take a long view and not play a person on some venues just because of the nature of the venues.

We all know Etihad has issues yet we still complain when something goes wrong. Its Etihad

That's what I mean, we all know the surface is bad and what it can do to even the fittest of players. The AFL don't want to change things (mind boggling really), it's up to the coaching staff to NOT select those that might really feel the effects of playing there (particularly those that have previously done ACL's).

That makes sense but this isn't the issue I was raising initially with Menzel. His feet/ankles are fine, it's the fact that he slipped on that pathetic boundary lined completely with Astro-Turf. Any player would have busted their ankle, not just an injury prone one. You have your regular playing surface, the painted boundary line, and then literally 30cms over that is Astro-Turf which isn't safe for anyone to be running on top of with speed which is common for AFL footballers.

“It’s disappointing, to be honest, because I feel like the astro turf here at Etihad Stadium has played a role in it,” Menzel told radio station K rock.

 

[Saint12]

The surface is fine at etihad. Just fix the artificial near the fence

Sent from my SM-P555 using Tapatalk

The surface is crap as well.
Some areas are covered in sand, really noticed it yesterday sitting in level 3.

 

[JohnnyFontane90]

i stubbed my toe in my doorway today. why am i living in this deathtrap of a house?

 

[HarvestMoon]

Geelong 100% agrees with you and have been asking to do so for years.

The AFL forces us to play home games there because so many Vic clubs sell their games interstate to avoid having to lose money playing at Etihad, and the AFL's contract with the stadium requires a minimum amount of games played there so we're used to top up the numbers.

We lose ~$500k per game from having to play at home at Etihad instead of Geelong

BS you gain $800k for playing at Geelong a ground built by other team supporters taxes...u greedy little b.......

 

[joy division]

Yes. For some reason ie cost cutting the AFL has installed obsolete artificial turf = the old astroturf instead of the new style field turf used in the USA.

View attachment 256331
On the left is the older "astroturf" with a thin layer of green plastic over a hard rubber base. It offers no give and led to some horrific knee injuries in the NFL.

On the right is the newer field turf which feels and looks more like natural grass.

View attachment 256338
Field turf up close.

I've played and trained soccer on the newer turf. It is sublime! No worries about injuries or anything like that but isn't as forgiving as regular turf to go to ground on. The stuff they have at Etihad is basically like wearing your footy boots running on grass straight onto concrete and trying to stop before hitting the barrier. It's mediocre and unacceptable for AFL level.

 

[Ned_Flanders]

Victorians are a special level of entitled

How so? Its a private stadium, no govt money

 

[nohairandfair]

BS you gain $800k for playing at Geelong a ground built by other team supporters taxes...u greedy little b.......

The Cats have directly contributed ~ 20 million to the redevelopment of Kardinia Park over the last 10 years.

The AFL have contributed about half this much and it's not on the back of other team supporter taxes, particularly your rabble.

 

[Donakebab]

We all know about Daniel Menzel and what a great story he's been having overcome 4 knee reconstructions beginning back in 2011, and finally being able to get out and play good footy like he was always meant to be. But we seriously came extremely close to seeing the last of him for good last night solely because he was playing at a venue which is clearly unfit to host professional sports. The artificial turf that begins basically immediately outside the boundary is such a massive health and safety risk for athletes who move at change direction at extreme pace, all while wearing footy boots which aren't suited for what is essentially a strip of carpet lined over cement.

We know the AFL is all about money and has turned into more of a business than a sport of late, but are they seriously going to allow its' players to put their careers at risk everytime they step out on this s**t heap? I don't care what their contractual obligations are regarding Etihad, it's criminal that they are continuing to schedule games of AFL football to a ground which cannot meet the standards that should be expected.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-06-12/menzel-marvels-but-set-for-scans-after-injury-scare


http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-06-12/menzel-marvels-but-set-for-scans-after-injury-scare

The MCG also uses artificial turf over concrete around the boundary, as do many other grounds around the country. Maybe you should do a bit of research before going on a crusade like this dumb rant.

 

[mcgarnacle]

They'll fix it once a player successfully sues them for contributing to their injury. Until it costs them money they couldn't give a s**t.

this League is so reactive rather than proactive.......................like trading bans for the swans, talk of denying the bombers the 1st draft pick if they finish last.

policy and decision making on the run.

 

[Milanista28]

I love Erihad stadium, Such a great place to watch footy.

 

[STP18]

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-06-...is-opinion-on-synthetic-turf-following-injury

THE AFL will speak to Daniel Menzel on Tuesday to get his take on the synthetic turf around the perimeter of Etihad Stadium that the Geelong forward believes contributed to his ankle injury.

Menzel slid on the much-maligned surface during Saturday night's win over North Melbourne and suffered an ankle ligament tear during the match.

There's way too much proof here for the Etihad apologists to dispute now. I don't care if your rabble of a club calls that third rate, downtrodden, pathetic, insipid excuse for a football ground your home, you have a complete dunghead of a home-ground and your club should be ashamed of themselves.

 

[nobbyiscool]

I hope he takes his lawyer with him.

 

[L e x]

To keep maintance down no doubt
The MCG has the same thing.

Glad someone said it.

 

[L e x]

This **very rarely happens.

They're ****in useless, they open about 1/5th of the windows and the lines barely move.

It's been complained about to all parties multiple times. They don't give a s**t.

Edited for accuracy.

All windows were open yesterday.

The windows (some, not all) begin to close when staff have completed their allocated shifts after the game starts.

Regardless of whether the windows were open or not, they ran out of available tickets.

 

[Rob]

It's a long running issue. They simply don't give a s**t. Cost cutting at every opportunity.

The best was our games for AFL members.

All EFC home games are fully ticketed, even if there's only 25k people there.

So AFL members can't scan in, they have to get a paper ticket with a seat number.

You could do this online - for $6, plus a $6 (100%!) service fee.

Thinking "**** that", you go along to a window pre game where it's free. The queues are kilometres long.

You can try to get there early as possible, but for the 1.10pm Sunday games a lot of people find that hard with kids sport etc.

So it gets frustrating... lining up missing the first quarter... to show my card to get a piece of paper, which is free... To allow me to get into a stadium which is half empty... so that I'll have access to a seat I'm not going anywhere near, as I'm going to standing room.

Something is broken in that system.

Possibly, but surely that's driven by the clubs, not the stadium. Essendon games are fully ticketed because it gives them the best return. Their choice.

 

[The Casey Cat]

Maybe Geelong should play their home games at their own ground instead of Etihad.

We'd love to. Maybe clubs like North, Hawks and Dees should stop SELLING games they should be playing there interstate so then we won't have to pick up the tab for the AFL's stupid ####ing quota.

 

[The Casey Cat]

If Docklands wasn't used for safety reasons, where the **** would those 46 games be played?

Good question. If the AFL are going to be silly enough to bunker themselves into having just two Melb stadiums they should at least make sure they have a decent and safe surface. If the player's association weren't such a conflicted waste of time they'd be smashing them for it.