Officials from West Coast and Optus Stadium are set to meet this week in the wake of premiership coach Adam Simpson’s criticism of the venue’s controversial surface.

Simpson linked seven lower-leg injuries to the hardness of the turf at Burswood, with his frustration boiling over after defender Tom Barrass had to pull out of Friday night’s loss to Port Adelaide with a suspected stress reaction in his foot.

Barrass’ immediate playing future is unclear but Simpson feared the issue could be as serious as Willie Rioli’s foot injury, which has ruled the small forward out of the first half of the season.

It’s not too late to sign up for tipping and Pick 7 fantasy! There’s great weekly cash prizes and the automatic chance to win a Mazda BT-50... Register to play The Game tipping and fantasy today!

The Eagles have had a string of foot injuries and say the players never experienced these problems before football moved to the new venue last year.

Don't miss the latest sports news! Was $13 now $7 per week for 12 weeks* (Digital + Print) Enjoy unlimited access to thewest.com.au and everyday digital editions on any device. Thursday - Monday papers home delivered with all of the latest footy news! *T&Cs apply

A Fremantle spokesman said the club was “conscious of the matter” and it was something they were monitoring closely.

Optus Stadium boss Mike McKenna said yesterday he was baffled by Simpson’s criticism and that if the surface was made any softer it would create new problems.

“By every measure that we’re given by the AFL to prepare the ground, the ground is fine. There’s an ideal range of hardness they use in the testing and we’re at the middle to lower end of that range. We’ve also had the AFL’s independent turf expert come out twice at the start of the season and we rate ideal in all the measures that they apply,” McKenna said.

“We haven’t heard any formal feedback from the clubs since the comments at the end of last year. So when you get that sort of comment it is a bit of a surprise. But in the context of the evening, it’s probably understandable that there’s a search for answers.”

Camera Icon Willie Rioli. Credit: AFL Media Camera Icon Lance Franklin. Credit: Getty Images

McKenna said there had become a “superstition” about the surface and many of the lower-leg problems sustained last season were contact injuries. But stadium staff were happy to meet with the Eagles.

“We’re all on the same team here. We’re all wanting West Australian teams to win and we’ll work with the clubs on whatever it is to try and give them as much of an advantage as we can,” he said.

“We’re very keen to hear what it is that makes them think that.”

McKenna said the turf was firmer during the week for training than it was on match days, because it could only be aerated once a week and that was usually done the day before games.

But ground staff were more worried about the surface being too soft rather than too hard.

“I can tell you that the curators are concerned about putting vehicles on the ground because it could leave wheel ruts. That’s the extent of the concern he has if it gets any softer,” McKenna said.

“The curator has actually taken a lot of the metal fittings off the tractors to make them as light as possible.”

Camera Icon Optus Stadium boss Mike McKenna. Credit: THE WEST AUSTRALIAN

Simpson said the Eagles would have to stop training at Burswood in the wake of Barrass’ injury.

Asked about the hardness of the club’s new main training oval at Lathlain, Simpson said: “We can work on that. We can control that. We can’t control this.”

Simpson said Fremantle did not experience a similar rash of foot injuries because the Dockers trained there less.

McKenna said he was not dismissing how the players felt but believed their perception was different to reality.

“I have no doubt they honestly feel it’s different. That feeling is translating to them as believing it’s hard, when quite clearly it’s not,” he said.