Fittler’s unusual State of Origin first

Blues coach Brad Fittler has enquired about the state of ANZ Stadium's turf ahead of game two of the State of Origin series.

Fittler contacted ANZ Stadium curator Graeme Logan, the first coach to do so since the venue's inception in 1999, which comes after he visited a turf farm in Windsor earlier this year.

“Well, they play on grass. They play on surfaces. So it’d be a real lack of attention to detail if I didn’t understand the grass,” Fittler told AAP.

Renowned for its slippery deck, Logan denied such reports about the Sydney stadium's surface.

“(The slippery surface) is a bit hyped up,” Logan told AAP.

“You get sick and tired of people saying it’s wet and slippery. People comment about it and they’re not players. And then you speak to the Cameron Smiths and whatnot, no one has an issue with it.

“(Freddie) is funny, but he does have a real interest in it. He’ll ring or we’ll catch up and say, ‘How are we looking? He’ll ask if the rye grass is coming through, so he really understands it.

“Freddie is very knowledgeable, we liaise quite a bit with Freddie which is great because he’s got a vested interest in how it works. We speak to him weekly about it so he gets the update.”

Fittler says ANZ Stadium looked to be in great condition and thinks the deck will optimise his side's performance on Sunday.

“There’s more grass on there than ever, it’s a vastly different field to the MCG. The boys with footwork will be very happy when they get out here, it’s in great nick."