RUGBY LEAGUE
BEST PRACTICE
IN A LEAGUE OF ITS OWN
By Greg Rhodes Features writer
Stanningley ARLC is a community hub as well as a rugby league Mecca
A
huge stencil rests in the clubhouse of Stanningley Amateur Rugby League Club. Made by head groundsman Dan Connor, the 11m long tour de force was destined for the centre spot of the main pitch at the club’s Arthur Miller Stadium base in Leeds. The words cut out of the boarding and painted bright white on the pitch will proclaim: ‘Stanningley 1889 – 2019’, to mark its 130th anniversary. Dan, a rugby regular before injury ended his playing days, typifies the spirit running deep in the veins of a club justly recognised for its contribution to community sport. The first time an amateur rugby league club had been nominated for one of the IOG Awards and won, SARLC, the current NGB Community Sports Club Grounds Team of the Year, offers provision for bodies as diverse as Leeds Rhinos, British Amateur Rugby League Association (BARLA), schools, 24 THE GROUNDSMAN August 2019
universities, armed forces and the NHS. Splitting his time between Stanningley and Emerald Headingley Stadium, where he is one of head groundsman Ryan Golding’s team tending Leeds Rhinos’ playing surfaces, Dan holds a pivotal position in the sport regionally.
“[The ground] is busy every day. Something’s always happening socially”
PUTTING IN THE HOURS
the training ground, Dan, like many of his industry peers, does the time the job demands. “My allotted time is just an average – fewer hours in winter, far more in summer,” he says. This balancing act is the key to helping Stanningley deliver the professionalism to supply huge local demand for the league code, he notes. With four pitches in their care – the ‘main’, ‘pylon’, ‘school’ and ‘juniors’ – plus a 75m x 55m training area, the team has its work cut out serving that need. Mowing, marking out and aeration (slitting and Vertidraining) number among Dan’s
“I’m applying my professional skills learned at Headingley to the grassroots game,” says the 26-year-old, “by helping raise the profile of volunteer grounds staff and improving turf care at semi-professional level.” Dan isn’t the only die-hard advocate for the amateur game. He transfers the pride in his Headingley work to his home turf at Stanningley, imbuing his three colleagues with the same will to excel. Working eight hours a week at Stanningley on top of his full-time Leeds Rugby role, which sees him working on the main pitch on matchdays as well as regular care of