Planning worth the effort as playing surface praised

The Sounness Park surface has the potential to be kept to a high standard following its meticulous preparation for Sunday’s NAB Challenge match but will ultimately come down to cost, according to the West Australian Football Commission.

WAFC facility services manager Paul Lekias said the months of planning for the match in Mount Barker involving the Shire of Plantagenet had resulted in a spectacle the local community could be proud of.

After recommending the new facility to the AFL for a pre-season match and getting the go ahead in October, Mr Lekias said he was confident the planning for the match was going to ensure a memorable experience with a lot of work done behind the scenes.

“I suppose it all started in August when the AFL came across and had a look at the venue,” he said.

“We at the football commission had put the venue forward to host the game and then ultimately you are in a bit of a waiting pattern until the fixtures get released in October.

“Then from there we sort of kicked into gear in regards to having meetings and we were having meetings fortnightly — either us coming down or over the phone and logistically we needed to lean on a few locals which Tommy (Moir, WAFC regional manager) has done for us from a footy perspective and Nicole Selesnew from the Shire of Plantagenet has been absolutely outstanding.

“Without the support of the Shire we wouldn’t be able to run the game without that.”

Mr Lekias said the Shire had worked well with Domain Stadium turf manager Nathan Saville to prepare the playing surface, which was rated highly by both Fremantle and Adelaide.

“We have had a few chats about it, we have got a couple of representatives from the AFL over and I had the comment from the Adelaide Crows that it’s the best regional ground they have seen, so from that perspective the turf is absolutely fantastic,” he said.

“Our turf manager Nathan (Saville) who is our turf manager at Domain Stadium, he’s highly complimentary of the surface and the Shire have done a super job in getting it up to scratch.”

Mr Lekias said catering for the crowd had been a three-day operation in preparing the venue, with temporary grand stands and facilities for the players and coaches and television cameras.