By Oliver Winn
As the footy season kicks off, Wesburn Junior Football Club (WJFC) will have to find another oval to use, as the ground was deemed unfit for use.
The decision was made after Yarra Ranges Council sports field and turf team leader Nick Murphy assessed the field, and after discussions with WJFC, they both agreed that the club – and its 260 registered junior players – will have to wait until the ground gets enough rain to soften up.
After years of little maintenance, WJFC president Wayne Morgan said he got the answer he expected.
“We’re pretty much the same boat that the club’s been in forever,” he said.
Mr Morgan said WJFC will have to play at Warburton’s home ground for the season’s first couple of games until rain softens the oval up so it can be cored to allow more moisture in.
“Hopefully by the 27th of April, if we get enough rain to soften the ground a bit, it should be okay to play back at Wesburn again.”
“It’s just a paddock and they [council] don’t want to spend the money on it.”
The club put in grant applications earlier this year for dire upgrades to the canteen’s kitchen, oval fencing, and temporary change room facilities, but these were knocked back by council.
But, after these grants were knocked back, the council then, on its own behalf, announced it would fund the same upgrades the club had already requested.
“We have acknowledged and supported the growth at Wesburn Junior Football Club through significant investment at this location totalling approximately $280,000 over the last 12 months,” a council spokesperson said.
“This has facilitated oval fencing, upgrades to the kitchen and shutters at the pavilion and the construction of temporary change facilities.”
Mr Morgan said the funding addressed glaring health and safety issues in the kitchen which were bordering on making the canteen unfit for use.
Upon hearing the figure of $280,000 supplied by council, Mr Morgan was incredibly doubtful of the amount council claimed it had cost to provide these bare minimum upgrades.
In the Wesburn Park Masterplan that was approved by councillors in December 2022, the plan approved an $800,000 upgrade to the playing surface of the main oval and the oval’s fencing.
In the Wesburn Park Master Plan all the upgrades servicing the Wesburn Junior Football Club were anticipated to be delivered within a five to 10 year timeframe, despite the oval needing a desperate overhaul now.
The Yarra Ranges Council said in times of dry weather, some grounds are hard until rainfall comes.
“We have a number of level three grounds that are used for competitive sport across the Council. Council does not measure ground hardness, however,” the council spokesperson said.
Wesburn oval is a level three ground, which means it lacks irrigation or drainage and it doesn’t get fertilised or aerated.
But, Mr Morgan said WJFC still pays a maintenance fee for the oval, and simply wants a load of topsoil to keep the oval in a suitable condition until more frequent rainfall comes and softens the ground.
At 260 junior players registered with the club, Mr Morgan feels the oval should receive a little more priority.
“We have asked the question: ‘Could we improve it to the tier two level?’ But no, we’re told it’s just tier three and that is what it is.”
