THE AFL has conceded the surface at Canberra's StarTrack Oval was not up to League standards, despite the ground passing a safety inspection prior to Saturday's Greater Western Sydney-Western Bulldogs clash. 

The oval was covered in a layer of sand following the Sheffield Shield cricket final three weeks ago. 

The surface forced uncharacteristic errors during the Bulldogs' win, while players from both teams finished the game with abrasions after skidding across the sandy grass.


The League's football operations manager Mark Evans has since received feedback from both clubs and has spoken with the venue operator about the surface. 

"It's quite clear from our point of view it was deemed safe to play," Evans said on Monday.

"But it's a long way short of the standards that we want for an AFL match, a long way short of ideal, so we will address that with the venue.

"I don't think [the surface] was shifting. I think you saw a spray of sand, now that's safe to play but there's a difference between safe to play and ideal to play. 

"When the ball doesn't bounce up properly, players sliding and getting grazes on their knees, things like that [aren't ideal]. I think we need to have better standards of care for our grounds. 

"I think in this case they were hampered in their renovation plan by the weather. They had a lot of rain and it didn't wash away the sand they way they wanted it to. 

"It's something we will take up with them, I think the rest of us believe that taking a conservative (approach) with renovation plans leading into a game would be a good outcome."

Western Bulldogs skipper Ryan Griffen admitted he was surprised to see the sandy conditions in Canberra but had no concerns over player safety. 

"It was a little bit patchy and a little sandy but we don't make excuses," Griffen said.

"It still was in fairly good nick so there was no concerns there. 

"It was a little bit of a shock there were certain guys that fell over and couldn't keep their feet and may have got a few grazes which was a little disappointing but I'm sure the AFL will get on top of it."

The next game to be played at StarTrack Oval will be the round seven clash between GWS and Port Adelaide.