Operations boss Laura Kane says player welfare was the reason behind moving the Eagles' AFLW tie. -AAP Image
West Coast's AFLW season opener against Gold Coast has been shifted due to safety concerns at their muddied home ground.
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Thursday's opening round at Leederville's upgraded Sullivan Logistics Stadium has been moved to the Eagles' other home venue, Mineral Resources Park.
Work to repair the centre square began on Monday after it had been badly damaged by a combination of high traffic and persistent rainfall.
The call was made on Tuesday to move the game after tests determined the turf was unsafe for play.Â
"The health and safety of our players is absolutely paramount and so we made the call to move the game," AFL operations boss Laura Kane said."Even though works were undertaken to fix the turf around the centre square, we wanted to make the decision as early as possible to give fans, our clubs and our broadcasters time to adapt their plans accordingly."
The Eagles' next match at Sullivan Logistics Stadium falls in Round 10 against Geelong followed by Carlton in Round 12, with home games at Mineral Resources Park - where the team is based - in rounds four, seven and eight.
The season kicks off earlier on Thursday at Ikon Park when Carlton meet Collingwood.
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