How Northern league grounds are holding up under increased local footy traffic
Northern league clubs are training away and even playing away from home grounds as a huge increase in traffic takes a toll. How will it affect finals?
Northern
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With local footy booming again post Covid, suburban grounds are paying a price.
A number of grounds across the northern suburbs are struggling with the increased traffic this year with senior football and booming numbers of junior and women’s teams all needing places to train and play.
In the Northern Football Netball League, Bundoora and Fitzroy Stars have been training at RMIT University, with the Stars playing their last two games there with Sir Doug Nicholls Oval currently unsafe.
Greensborough moved its Round 12 match from War Memorial Reserve to Watsonia’s Binnak Park to give its home an opportunity to recover.
St Mary’s has been training on nearby grounds to rest Whatmough Park, while the likes of Warringal Park, Eltham College, Montmorency Park and Yulong Reserve being closely monitored.
It is not unusual for grounds to be heavy in the middle of winter, but local footy traffic has never been higher, elevating the risk of injury.
Clubs are being asked to find alternative training methods to help get through the final six weeks of the campaign.
NFNL CEO Martin Stillman said councils and clubs were working together to ensure the longevity of grounds.
“When you’re one of the biggest community leagues and you’ve got a significant number of games as is the case in the NFNL you expect some deterioration of grounds especially in the middle of winter, some metropolitan leagues don’t have junior teams and therefore less traffic on their grounds,” he said.
“You look at some of our big clubs you’ve got multiple under-19s through to the lower aged junior teams there’s a fair bit of traffic.
“Overall, I think the clubs manage it well and councils do a good job of maintaining ovals and if there’s a week or two when it’s really heavy then councils and clubs work together, which is good, its smart venue management.
“Greensborough for example moved their game last week and it didn’t affect their performance or financial viability.
“We encourage clubs to look at alternative methods, being proactive in terms of training indoors, such as with the facility at LaTrobe, F45 classes, swimming classes, that can give some diversity for clubs and coaches and give grounds a reprieve.
“I don’t think it’s anything abnormal in comparison to other years and other leagues.”
Importantly for the league, with the business end of the season fast approaching, finals venues remain in good condition.
Whittlesea Showgrounds, Epping Recreation Reserve and Preston City Oval are expected to host the majority of finals this season.
The NFNL board will meet next week to confirm its 2023 finals venues for senior and junior football next week.
Stillman saw Whittlesea and Epping first-hand on the weekend.
“I was at Whittlesea and Epping, traditionally our finals grounds, and Epping was in fantastic condition and there was one small muddy patch on the wing at Whittlesea,” he said.
“Talking to my colleagues here, they said Whittlesea is in far better condition than it was this time last year.
“The league looks at all venues in terms of our finals and what’s best in terms of crowd attendance, standard of football and proximity etc.
“Coming into the league, best practice for me is to see how the finals series operates at our current venues, how the Rosbrook Medal works as how it’s currently structured and assess it with my own eyes and see if any changes moving forward might be made.”
Having been the NFNL’s choice of Division 1 and 2 grand final venue since 2007, Preston City Oval is expected to host both matches again this season.
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“Preston, when you look at 1000 undercover seating, the ability to host our corporate lunch, parking can be problematic but realistically when you look at all venues there’s no venue across community leagues that has the perfect parking situation,” Stillman said.
“Cramer Street is a state league ground, the facilities are extremely good for players and spectators and the train and tram line for commuters to get to the ground.
“It’s the MCG of the North, Preston, and the ground has historically had some great finals matches and hopefully we’ll have a drier grand final day in 2023.”
No games are currently scheduled to change grounds with Fitzroy Stars hoping to be back at Sir Doug Nicholls Oval for its Round 14 clash against Kinglake.
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