Etihad Stadium has come under scrutiny for its hard surface which, some believe, has contributed to a series of player concussions this year.
North Melbourne forward Ben Brown was the latest to be knocked out on the Docklands turf when he was buried head-first into the turf by Collingwood ruckman Brodie Grundy on Saturday night. Grundy has since been offered a two-game ban.
That incident came a week after Patrick Dangerfield received a one-week suspension for his tackle on Carlton's Matthew Kreuzer, which concussed the Blues ruckman, again at Etihad.
Kangaroos' pair Mason Wood and Andrew Swallow were also forced from the field last year with concussion after separate incidents where they landed heavily on the stadium's rock-hard turf. The surface, the subject of intermittent criticism since it hosted its first AFL game in 2000, is notoriously firm due to the heavy concrete underlay.
Players have told ESPN that the firm field "undeniably" made them more prone to injury, and more leg-weary after matches.
The players' union, the AFLPA, told ESPN they hadn't received any complaints about the hardness of the turf while the stadium's spokesman, Bill Lane, said on Monday he was yet to receive a formal complaint from anyone associated with the league or 18 clubs.
Given the ramifications of reckless tackles, players are being urged to tidy up their tackling technique to better protect their opponents.
Adelaide's tackling machine Hugh Greenwood told ESPN that he believed Grundy's tackle on Brown was near-perfect, but understood the onus was on the tackler. "It shouldn't be [on players' minds]. I thought that the Grundy tackle, despite what happened to Benny [Brown] was the perfect tackle," Greenwood said. "It was a textbook tackle. It was just one bloke trying to get another bloke down."
Greenwood, 25, who had 13 tackles in the 84-point victory against Port Adelaide, has recorded the most tackles (74) of any player in AFL history after 10 games - eight more than former Carlton player, David Ellard.
Despite industry concerns, Greenwood said players' thirst for the contest has not altered.
"When the ball's there, you don't really think about the consequences. You just hit the contest and whatever happens, happens. Nothing's really changed on that front," he told ESPN.
"Technique-wise, I'm still learning a few different things and still trying to perfect my tackle. It's one of my strengths and what I bring to the group."