TO A PASSERBY the surface at Collingwood's Olympic Park training oval may look pristine, but this pre-season Magpies players have expressed a different opinion.
The club is based on prime real estate in the heart of Melbourne's bustling sporting precinct, and the training oval is an open park and available for public use when the team isn't using it.
The ground is also set to play host to four AFLW matches in the coming months.
Magpies midfielder Taylor Adams confirmed concerns about the hardness of the surface had been raised.
"Yeah, I think there was a few concerns pre-Christmas, but since we've come back after the break, the ground's actually a lot softer," Adams told Sportsday Radio on Wednesday.
"Obviously we had a fair bit of rain over that period," he said.
"There's always concerns about the training and playing surfaces, obviously we spend a bit of time out there, three big sessions a week, clocking up to 40km."
"So you want to make sure that's right, I think at the moment they're quite happy with it. "
The club itself rejected any ongoing fears about the training surface.
"There are no concerns with the Holden Centre oval surface," a Magpies spokesperson told AFL.com.au.
"It’s not unusual for AFL grounds to be slightly under par leading up to Christmas due to weather factors.
"With a string of hot days over the break the ground is now in great condition and there are no concerns from the football department."
Meanwhile, Melbourne has been forced to swtich its planned open training session scheduled for Friday to Gosch's Paddock from Casey Fields.
The club said it was giving its south-eastern training oval time to recover for AFLW and JLT Community Series commitments.
"We spend a lot of time planning our pre-season and in-season training sessions and don’t like changing sessions once they have been set. However, we have decided to support the Casey council," football manager Josh Mahoney said.
Melbourne's AFLW team plays its historic debut game against the Brisbane Lions at Casey Fields on Sunday, 5 February.
The club will host a double-header at the Cranbourne ground when both the men's and women's teams take on Carlton on Saturday, 25 February.
