Former AFL Side Collingwood Player Nick Maxwell Calls ANZ Stadium Surface 'Disgusting'

The Australian Football League side Sydney Swans "hold the party line on playing at ANZ Stadium," but former Collingwood player Nick Maxwell has no such restrictions and has labelled the controversial surface "disgusting," according to Peter Lalor of THE AUSTRALIAN. Neither the Swans nor the AFL will openly criticize the surface, "but the two bodies who hold a contract with the stadium were assured that the ground would be better for this weekend’s qualifying final than it was for last Saturday’s game against Richmond." While the weather has been wet in Sydney "the patchwork grass on the wings, which are usually covered by retractable seating, was so slippery one of the television commentators reportedly lost his footing before the match." Maxwell indicated that "the surface had always been difficult when he played on it." Asked what it was like, he said "disgusting." Maxwell: "It was no good, it was really patchy" (THE AUSTRALIAN, 9/3).