Ideally it is best that no additional activities at venues be held in the lead up to NAB Challenge games, however, unfortunately this is not possible. Venues such as Traeger Park, Tony Ireland Stadium, Manuka, Blacktown International Sportspark, Wagga Wagga and Wangaratta will all host cricket matches prior to and in some cases after NAB Challenge games are played. None of these venues have dropin wickets meaning the management of the wicket table is crucial. For footballers, wicket tables are undoubtedly the most scrutinised and contentious part of any football ground and pose the greatest challenge for curators in the lead up to hosting these pre-season games. Monitoring moisture levels to ensure the wicket is not too hard and rotating usage to ensure the wickets have adequate grass coverage are two of the most crucial aspects, as well as ensuring there is a gradual transition in terms of heights from the outfield to the table.
Premiership spotlight
The drop-in wickets at Adelaide are slightly different to those at the MCG in that the replacement turf, or that which will be in place during the AFL football season, is also housed in trays but sit on strip footings rather than a concrete base like at the MCG. The strip footings may assist with better drainage in the middle of the Adelaide Oval compared to the shallow depth of sand that sits above the concrete pad footing at the MCG. However, it will not be an easy transition from cricket to football for curator Damian Hough as to officially open the Oval the Rolling Stones are playing a concert on the ground on 22 March, just one week before it is set to host its opening AFL match between Port Adelaide and the Adelaide Crows. While concerts being played before AFL matches are nothing new, they certainly provide their fair share of concerns for groundstaff. While Sydney’s ANZ Stadium will host three games again this year, with the first in round two, Greater Western Sydney’s home ground Giants Stadium, formerly Skoda Stadium, will host matches prior to its commitments for the Royal Easter Show. With Easter being later in 2014, the
The Adelaide Oval’s new eight wicket drop-in block (pictured is the strip used for the recent 2nd Ashes Test) will be replaced by trays of turf come the football season
Joondalup Oval in Perth is one of two new venues to host an NAB Challenge pre-season practice match. As well as being home to West Perth Football Club it also hosts a local American football (gridiron) competition
January-February 2014
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The 2014 season will see two ‘new’ venues used to host AFL Premiership matches. Last year was the first time AFL had been played at an overseas venue, namely Westpac Stadium in Wellington, New Zealand, which will again host another ANZAC Day match, this time between Brisbane and St Kilda, as part of league triple header. This year will also see first games played for Premiership points at Traeger Park (Alice Springs) and the new-look Adelaide Oval. AFL has been played regularly at Traeger Park for many years in the form of NAB Cup and NAB Challenge matches, but this year Melbourne will host Port Adelaide in Round 11 on 31 May. Traeger Park came to prominence recently when it hosted the English cricket team in a two-day exhibition game against an ACB Chairman’s XI. While cricket and football generally don’t mix, the surface quality of the outfield was impeccable following the cricket match. The most talked about venue this season, however, will undoubtedly be Adelaide Oval. The Oval has undergone a dramatic transformation over the last 12 months which has seen the demolition of the old Bradman Stand at the southern end of the ground and the Chappell stands on the eastern side. Both have been replaced with much larger, modern stands while areas of the western stands, constructed in the initial upgrade of the oval, have been named the Sir Donald Bradman Pavilion (centre) and Chappell Stand (to its right). Of more interest to the footballers (and cricketers of course) is that the iconic Adelaide Oval wicket table has been replaced with eight drop-in wickets. Drop-in wicket technology was first introduced at the MCG and has subsequently been used at ANZ Stadium, Etihad Stadium, Simonds Stadium and even for the first time this summer at Aurora Stadium in Launceston.
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