Strathalbyn Oval gets seal of approval to host Adelaide-Fremantle pre-season match

STRATHALBYN Oval has the AFL’s seal of approval to host the biggest game in its 139-year history this month — the JLT Community Series match between Adelaide and Fremantle.

ALL SMILES: The AFL’s Travis Auld (second from right) with, from left, Strathalbyn playing-coach Todd Price, JLT’s Gary Okely, Roosters president Brenton Smith and player Angus Pichl after inspecting Strathalbyn Oval. Picture: Sarah Reed.

STRATHALBYN Oval has the AFL’s seal of approval to host the biggest game in its 139-year history this month.

The SA country ground’s playing surface has been relaid and new goalposts have been installed by the league to accommodate the round one JLT Community Series fixture between Adelaide and Fremantle on Sunday, February 25.

The town’s cricketers have also been temporarily kicked off the oval to avoid the centre square from being too hard and dangerous to play AFL.

“A lot of work has been done to improve the facility and you won’t see many better surfaces than this in any competition around the country,’’ AFL general manager of clubs and broadcasting Travis Auld said when visiting the Great Southern Football League club yesterday.

“When the players arrive to play here they will be more than happy to walk out on this surface.’’

The AFL is expecting a capacity crowd of 5000 to attend the match, which will be followed by the Crows having a two-day community camp in the Hills region.

The home of the Strathalbyn Roosters, the ground is almost as wide (123 metres) as it is long (150m).

This year’s pre-season series has been cut from three matches for each club to two to accommodate the new AFLX competition from February 15-17.

Auld said leaving a legacy for country clubs was an important part of the JLT Community Series.

“When we were considering the structure of the pre-season competition, the first thing we wanted to do was maintain our connection to the community,” Auld said.

“The opportunity for people who play grassroots football around the country to still connect with the AFL, because not everyone can get to the home-and-away venues, is really important.’’

Along with Strathalbyn, other regional areas that will host pre-season AFL matches include Wangaratta, Townsville, Ballarat, Moe, Colac and Joondalup.

The Crows’ other JLT match will be against hometown rival Port Adelaide at Alberton Oval on March 10.

The Power will also play West Coast at Leederville Oval in WA.

Auld, meanwhile, said AFL clubs will be able to rotate through 14-player squads during the AFLX tournament.

Seven players will be on the field at any one time, with three players on the interchange bench for each match. Clubs will be allowed to make up to four changes to their line-up between games.

[e-mail]