AFL’s advice for fans

Despite thousands of AFL supporters finding themselves stuck outside Etihad Stadium last Sunday, the AFL is ‘rapt’ that so many fans attended the match between St Kilda and Carlton.

AFL Operations Manager Mark Evans told Sports Today that the league will learn from it, as will the stadium.

Evans also advised fans to arrive to the ground with plenty of time to get a seat, especially if they need to buy a ticket on arrival.

‘The message that we do have to get out there is if you want to be there for the bounce is to make sure you leave plenty of time for that,’ Evans said.

‘Particularly with security arrangements and ticketing if you’re buying a ticket on the day, (and we) always encourage you top buy in advance if you can.’

Etihad Stadium was in the news for a number of reasons over the weekend, with Geelong forward Daniel Menzel rolling his ankle on the artificial turf.

The AFL is set to conduct tests to the turf to see if it played a part in Menzel’s ankle strain.

‘My understanding is Dan Menzel thinks it contributed,’ Evans said.

‘It’s sort of difficult to assess whether it would have occurred in any case.

‘We’ll run as many tests as we can to see if there’s something we can learn from that.’

Menzel is not a confirmed starter for Saturday night’s match against the Bulldogs due to the ankle injury.

Click PLAY to hear Mark Evans re: Etihad Stadium