D1 Division 1 - 2019

[workhorse]

It was that small section of the cricket pitch pictured above (however that photo from Number 9 is from Sunday, after the Saturday night downpours) Most of the cricket pitch was okay and outside of that the rest of the ground was grassy and perfect for footy.

The issue was the cricket pitch had been chopped up in the previous weeks due to the cold and wet conditions, but given we had some warm and sunny weather in the lead-up to Saturday the mud had begun to firm up. Not to the point of being hard and jagged (which does happen) but the 'deepest' mud bits were doughy, for lack of a better word. Not soft mud that your foot splashes straight into, but soft mud that gives way awkwardly under foot and more likely to cause knee/ankle injury. It was definitely line-ball. In my opinion, if it was my call, the games should've gone ahead, but if you walked through it you'd understand the concern. I've seen (and played in) much worse. (ironically, Preston's ground in Round 6 had hard rock/dirt piles on the edges of their synthetic cricket pitch, so much so that the umpires avoided it in the senior game!) but in saying that, I'm not the one with the duty of care.

It had to be agreed by those from both sides not to go ahead, however I wasn't in the meetings with the respective clubs' brains trusts..... We will leave it up to the powers that be at the VAFA and the club committees to come to a decision on points/rescheduled game etc.

What it highlights for me, which has been an issue faced at every club that I've been involved in and I'm sure faced by all clubs that use a council ground to play on, and that is the absolute lack of support from councils towards the local sport tenants. The cricket pitch at Kew is always an issue and the blatant lack of action from council is appalling. The club had asked them to help fix the cricket pitch for this weekend and what do they do? Roll the outside thirds of the pitch and leave the centre part which is what caused the game to be called off! All it needed was the deeper muddy bit to be rolled flat and it would've been as good as you could get for a cricket pitch in the middle of winter.

You can argue it was an overreaction from those that believed it was unsafe to play, but it shouldn't have even got to that point.

 

[bedford]

It was that small section of the cricket pitch pictured above (however that photo from Number 9 is from Sunday, after the Saturday night downpours) Most of the cricket pitch was okay and outside of that the rest of the ground was grassy and perfect for footy.

The issue was the cricket pitch had been chopped up in the previous weeks due to the cold and wet conditions, but given we had some warm and sunny weather in the lead-up to Saturday the mud had begun to firm up. Not to the point of being hard and jagged (which does happen) but the 'deepest' mud bits were doughy, for lack of a better word. Not soft mud that your foot splashes straight into, but soft mud that gives way awkwardly under foot and more likely to cause knee/ankle injury. It was definitely line-ball. In my opinion, if it was my call, the games should've gone ahead, but if you walked through it you'd understand the concern. I've seen (and played in) much worse. (ironically, Preston's ground in Round 6 had hard rock/dirt piles on the edges of their synthetic cricket pitch, so much so that the umpires avoided it in the senior game!) but in saying that, I'm not the one with the duty of care.

It had to be agreed by those from both sides not to go ahead, however I wasn't in the meetings with the respective clubs' brains trusts..... We will leave it up to the powers that be at the VAFA and the club committees to come to a decision on points/rescheduled game etc.

What it highlights for me, which has been an issue faced at every club that I've been involved in and I'm sure faced by all clubs that use a council ground to play on, and that is the absolute lack of support from councils towards the local sport tenants. The cricket pitch at Kew is always an issue and the blatant lack of action from council is appalling. The club had asked them to help fix the cricket pitch for this weekend and what do they do? Roll the outside thirds of the pitch and leave the centre part which is what caused the game to be called off! All it needed was the deeper muddy bit to be rolled flat and it would've been as good as you could get for a cricket pitch in the middle of winter.

You can argue it was an overreaction from those that believed it was unsafe to play, but it shouldn't have even got to that point.

EE Gunn was just as bad , but at least the council rolled as much as they could , but no one complained and both sides played it out.

 

[workhorse]

EE Gunn was just as bad , but at least the council rolled as much as they could , but no one complained and both sides played it out.

Victoria Park 5+ years ago was a complete mud pit! I've seen footage of country games played on Saturday on grounds that looked like lakes. The irony of it all was the rest of the ground could not have been better to play on. As I said, only those that actually put a foot where the dangerous part was understand why some thought it was unsafe, but it is what it is.

All the council had to do was come and unlock the shed, the players were happy to roll it themselves!

 

[RightOn50]

What happens now moving forward. If it rains again can teams rock up and say “I don’t feel safe playing here?”
It’s obviously going to rain again as we are in the middle of winter.
Will Kew be able to play at home again or find new ground?
A lot of questions to be asked


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[bedford]

Victoria Park 5+ years ago was a complete mud pit! I've seen footage of country games played on Saturday on grounds that looked like lakes. The irony of it all was the rest of the ground could not have been better to play on. As I said, only those that actually put a foot where the dangerous part was understand why some thought it was unsafe, but it is what it is.

All the council had to do was come and unlock the shed, the players were happy to roll it themselves!

You just can't use a roller without training , our council actually train people in the cricket season. Pretty poor effort from your council.

 

[Over The Post]

We just get 3" of sand poured over ours. Rolled mud? Lookshury!

 

[eth-dog]

Honestly surprised that Kew wasn't apparently up to scratch and Therry is. Absolute shocker out in Oak Park.

 

[Mappa]

What happens now moving forward. If it rains again can teams rock up and say “I don’t feel safe playing here?”
It’s obviously going to rain again as we are in the middle of winter.
Will Kew be able to play at home again or find new ground?
A lot of questions to be asked


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

I'd doubt that 88 players would willingly NOT want to play a game of footy, so I guess there were some issues, but considering the state of grounds around the Ammos and other leagues it seems an odd one. The pocket / flank on the lakeside of Lindsay Hassett Oval is but one that springs to mind. That's like playing on the beach (not a potshot at South Melbourne FC BTW, just one example). Two questions from me though. a) Why not use the top oval ? It's a good oval. Size shouldn't be an issue and b) sorry if this has already been covered, but why did the Under 19s game go ahead ?

Lastly, if we are talking about duty of care, then how have games been able to go on for so many years at Melbourne High with that wooden bench / structure thing on the far side. It's amazing no one has been seriously injured there ...

 

[Number 9]

It was that small section of the cricket pitch pictured above (however that photo from Number 9 is from Sunday, after the Saturday night downpours) Most of the cricket pitch was okay and outside of that the rest of the ground was grassy and perfect for footy.

The issue was the cricket pitch had been chopped up in the previous weeks due to the cold and wet conditions, but given we had some warm and sunny weather in the lead-up to Saturday the mud had begun to firm up. Not to the point of being hard and jagged (which does happen) but the 'deepest' mud bits were doughy, for lack of a better word. Not soft mud that your foot splashes straight into, but soft mud that gives way awkwardly under foot and more likely to cause knee/ankle injury. It was definitely line-ball. In my opinion, if it was my call, the games should've gone ahead, but if you walked through it you'd understand the concern. I've seen (and played in) much worse. (ironically, Preston's ground in Round 6 had hard rock/dirt piles on the edges of their synthetic cricket pitch, so much so that the umpires avoided it in the senior game!) but in saying that, I'm not the one with the duty of care.

It had to be agreed by those from both sides not to go ahead, however I wasn't in the meetings with the respective clubs' brains trusts..... We will leave it up to the powers that be at the VAFA and the club committees to come to a decision on points/rescheduled game etc.

What it highlights for me, which has been an issue faced at every club that I've been involved in and I'm sure faced by all clubs that use a council ground to play on, and that is the absolute lack of support from councils towards the local sport tenants. The cricket pitch at Kew is always an issue and the blatant lack of action from council is appalling. The club had asked them to help fix the cricket pitch for this weekend and what do they do? Roll the outside thirds of the pitch and leave the centre part which is what caused the game to be called off! All it needed was the deeper muddy bit to be rolled flat and it would've been as good as you could get for a cricket pitch in the middle of winter.

You can argue it was an overreaction from those that believed it was unsafe to play, but it shouldn't have even got to that point.

Sorry to blow a hole in your side Horse, but the pics were taken on Friday.

 

[vafaeye]

I'd doubt that 88 players would willingly NOT want to play a game of footy, so I guess there were some issues, but considering the state of grounds around the Ammos and other leagues it seems an odd one. The pocket / flank on the lakeside of Lindsay Hassett Oval is but one that springs to mind. That's like playing on the beach (not a potshot at South Melbourne FC BTW, just one example). Two questions from me though. a) Why not use the top oval ? It's a good oval. Size shouldn't be an issue and b) sorry if this has already been covered, but why did the Under 19s game go ahead ?

Lastly, if we are talking about duty of care, then how have games been able to go on for so many years at Melbourne High with that wooden bench / structure thing on the far side. It's amazing no one has been seriously injured there ...

Agreed about Melb High - played there stacks of times. Be advised if from away team don't you be the one to sign the ground form.

Worse grounds are/were Toorak Park, Powerhouse, Old Essendon Grammar was as heavy as crap etc. Looking at picture it was bad but just move the square. Kew posters are saying it was foreseeable early in the week so why didn't it happen? Buy some covers like clubs in our division - no issues in B Grade.

THE EYE
​

 

[vafaeye]

Agreed about Melb High - played there stacks of times. Be advised if from away team don't you be the one to sign the ground form.

Worse grounds are/were Toorak Park, Powerhouse, Old Essendon Grammar was as heavy as crap etc. Looking at picture it was bad but just move the square. Kew posters are saying it was foreseeable early in the week so why didn't it happen? Buy some covers like clubs in our division - no issues in B Grade.

THE EYE
​

Also if it was so bad from weeks ago "perhaps" Kew could have looked around the area at clubs who were due to play away on Saturday and had something in place?​

 

[Mappa]

Agreed about Melb High - played there stacks of times. Be advised if from away team don't you be the one to sign the ground form.

THE EYE
​

No doubt, but that's a funny one because it probably gets overlooked because it's not the actual ground if you know what i mean. All ground inspections I have seen focus on the surface, sprinkler heads etc, rather than those adjoining aspects

 

[Moody Blue]

It was that small section of the cricket pitch pictured above (however that photo from Number 9 is from Sunday, after the Saturday night downpours) Most of the cricket pitch was okay and outside of that the rest of the ground was grassy and perfect for footy.

The issue was the cricket pitch had been chopped up in the previous weeks due to the cold and wet conditions, but given we had some warm and sunny weather in the lead-up to Saturday the mud had begun to firm up. Not to the point of being hard and jagged (which does happen) but the 'deepest' mud bits were doughy, for lack of a better word. Not soft mud that your foot splashes straight into, but soft mud that gives way awkwardly under foot and more likely to cause knee/ankle injury. It was definitely line-ball. In my opinion, if it was my call, the games should've gone ahead, but if you walked through it you'd understand the concern. I've seen (and played in) much worse. (ironically, Preston's ground in Round 6 had hard rock/dirt piles on the edges of their synthetic cricket pitch, so much so that the umpires avoided it in the senior game!) but in saying that, I'm not the one with the duty of care.

It had to be agreed by those from both sides not to go ahead, however I wasn't in the meetings with the respective clubs' brains trusts..... We will leave it up to the powers that be at the VAFA and the club committees to come to a decision on points/rescheduled game etc.

What it highlights for me, which has been an issue faced at every club that I've been involved in and I'm sure faced by all clubs that use a council ground to play on, and that is the absolute lack of support from councils towards the local sport tenants. The cricket pitch at Kew is always an issue and the blatant lack of action from council is appalling. The club had asked them to help fix the cricket pitch for this weekend and what do they do? Roll the outside thirds of the pitch and leave the centre part which is what caused the game to be called off! All it needed was the deeper muddy bit to be rolled flat and it would've been as good as you could get for a cricket pitch in the middle of winter.

You can argue it was an overreaction from those that believed it was unsafe to play, but it shouldn't have even got to that point.

How much are the rates in Kew? They take our money, employ hundreds of bureaucrats to make the paper work go around and around, get involved in causes that have nothing to do with Councils, but drop the ball when they have to do one simple task.

 

[workhorse]

Sorry to blow a hole in your side Horse, but the pics were taken on Friday.

Apologies, it looked like yesterday. Definitely dried out further by Saturday midday

 

[workhorse]

Kew posters are saying it was foreseeable early in the week so why didn't it happen? Buy some covers like clubs in our division - no issues in B Grade.

THE EYE
​

Mate, there are covers. All the gear is there. The council controls it.

 

[vafaeye]

Mate, there are covers. All the gear is there. The council controls it.

Hey Horse
In Caulfield/South Yarra the cricket clubs own the covers and use them - councils don't EVER put them on the CLUBS DO! Perhaps about time you started working horse and do the same.

THE EYE
​

 

[grumpyoldcoot]

a) Why not use the top oval ? It's a good oval. Size shouldn't be an issue and b) sorry if this has already been covered, but why did the Under 19s game go ahead ?

Top oval was measured and it does not meet vafa size requirements.

If it had, would’ve been difficult to play the game anyway since the Preston reserves side had already left

 

[grumpyoldcoot]

Hey Horse
In Caulfield/South Yarra the cricket clubs own the covers and use them - councils don't EVER put them on the CLUBS DO! Perhaps about time you started working horse and do the same.

THE EYE
​

Different councils work differently.

Comment still stands though- had it been rolled by the council, the games would’ve gone ahead

 

[workhorse]

Hey Horse
In Caulfield/South Yarra the cricket clubs own the covers and use them - councils don't EVER put them on the CLUBS DO! Perhaps about time you started working horse and do the same.

THE EYE
​

Fair enough mate. Besides the point but the covers being off was actually what was required. The weather was perfect last week for what we needed. Dry the mud pit so that it was dry enough to roll flat and it would’ve been perfect. Council only rolled 2/3 of it and left the worst part

I understand your point, and I’m sure the club could have done things differently but it’s so frustrating that for the most part we are at the mercy of the council yet they are completely negligent.

 

[Number 9]

Don’t take it personally Horse. It’s just a shame that in this day and age, games get called off too easily!

As someone suggested earlier, with a bye for most this weekend, would there be consideration to playing on Saturday?

Shit, I can get you a neutral ground with great facilities if you’re prepared to play in the Springvale area!!

 

[Mappa]

Top oval was measured and it does not meet vafa size requirements.

If it had, would’ve been difficult to play the game anyway since the Preston reserves side had already left

They mustn't have measured Ferndale or Doncaster Reserve

 

[Gun Island]

They mustn't have measured Ferndale or Doncaster Reserve

Or Albert Park Falcons ground , that is tiny .


On iPhone using BigFooty.com mobile app

 

[FWIW]

Agreed about Melb High - played there stacks of times. Be advised if from away team don't you be the one to sign the ground form.

Worse grounds are/were Toorak Park, Powerhouse, Old Essendon Grammar was as heavy as crap etc. Looking at picture it was bad but just move the square. Kew posters are saying it was foreseeable early in the week so why didn't it happen? Buy some covers like clubs in our division - no issues in B Grade.

THE EYE
​

FWIW still remember Sholly forcing a game to go ahead at Uni Oval a couple of years ago......

 

[ultimate warrior]

Different councils work differently.

Comment still stands though- had it been rolled by the council, the games would’ve gone ahead

We operate in the same council with a similar turf centre wicket. We had it rolled Friday and it was fine for play on Saturday. We have covers which we control. They are only ever taken off for training and Saturday's.Not hard...
By the conclusion of Saturday our centre wicket looked exactly the same as Kew.
Not sure how Kew was deemed unplayable? Centre wickets have been mud for an eternity.

 

[workhorse]

We operate in the same council with a similar turf centre wicket. We had it rolled Friday and it was fine for play on Saturday. We have covers which we control. They are only ever taken off for training and Saturday's.Not hard...
By the conclusion of Saturday our centre wicket looked exactly the same as Kew.
Not sure how Kew was deemed unplayable? Centre wickets have been mud for an eternity.

Again. Covers being on and off would not have changed the situation. The whole centre wicket needed to be rolled but only 2/3 of it was. The pictures tell only part of the story. The only way I can describe the section that was deemed unplayable is that it was too uneven for how firm the mud had become and wasn't soft enough for your foot to sink into it like it would've been on or after a few rainy days/being chopped up....

I've seen grounds much, much muddier - just two weeks ago vs Therry Penola for example - and I would've played if it were my call. However, there was enough doubt by some people on both sides and was not a case of simply being too muddy, more the state of the mud in one section. Again, very hard to explain if you didn't walk through it.

The most disappointing part is that it would've been a belter game in the seniors