ANZ Slippery Surface woes back
ANZ Stadium's slippery night-time playing surface is again in the spotlight with NRL clubs Penrith and the Bulldogs airing concerns following Saturday night's error-riddled 30-4 win to the Panthers.
Dogs and Panthers players came up with 39 errors between them as they slipped and slid on the dewy ground, which underwent remedial work in 2006 amid anxiety over player safety.
"I watched the (under-)20s game and the ball must have gone down about 50 times," Penrith coach Matt Elliott said.
"I was cursing our guys' ball possession but it was slippery as, (that was) the feedback from the boys there."
Bulldogs coach Steve Folkes also suggested the ground had contributed to his side's woeful handling.
"The footing and the ground - and Penrith made plenty of errors as well - it was just not a pretty game," he said.
Folkes' captain Andrew Ryan agreed.
"I think there were about 46 scrums so there were obviously a few errors from both teams and it was pretty slippery underfoot," Ryan said.
The Olympic Stadium has been criticised before for being slippery with officials saying the problem is caused by western Sydney's winter dew.
It got the tick of approval from experts after sections of turf were replaced in 2006 because of a soil disease.
http://news.leaguehq.com.au/slippery-stadium-surface-woes-back/20080511-2cyb.html