Warringah mayor calls for NRL to fund $1m synthetic field at Brookvale Oval
Warringah mayor Michael Regan has called for the NRL to cough up $1 million to provide Brookvale Oval with a synthetic surface to ensure the playing field is up to standard.
The governing body is set to launch an investigation after the ground resembled a sandy heap during the Sea Eagles' loss to Canterbury on Friday night. There could be more head-office dramas for the hosts, with the club likely to come under scrutiny for failing to immediately drag Brayden Wiliame from the field after he appeared to be concussed.
Players from both sides were shocked by the number of potholes on a field which had reportedly hosted six games during the past week. Regan believes the problems could be overcome if the NRL funded the costs of laying artificial turf, which lasts for at least a decade.
"[NRL CEO] Dave Smith recently came back from an overseas trip saying he wants boutique grounds now. Well if that's what you want, are you prepared to put your hand in your back pocket to fund it?" Regan said.
"I support boutique grounds and an NRL-government partnership to make it happen. If we want a premium surface on what is otherwise a public oval - the public is allowed to walk their dog on it or use it as they see fit every day from 6am to 8pm - we need the resources to bring it up to scratch.
"For a council, full synthetic works in that it would cost us about $15,000 to $20,000 a year to maintain. It will also give you 60 hours of use out of the surface each week, which means you can play games every day and night on a perfect surface and it will last 10 to 15 years."
Some NFL and English grounds use artificial surfaces because to their consistency and resilience. Regan said an interim solution would be to use a combination of synthetic and natural grass, as is the case at AAMI Park in Melbourne.
"The NRL are the ones that demand that the surface should be a certain standard, so they should pay for it," Regan said.
"This highlights the lack of investment from the NRL. They have expectations, but rather than criticise they need to come up with solutions.
"They are quick to throw stones at the council but we are never going to have the resources to put in a $100 million, 23,000 seat stadium for 10 games a year. We don't have the resources to do that, let alone maintain the surface.
"We need the state or the NRL to come up with a solution to ensure we can remain at Brookvale. If you want to kill Manly off, you move us out of the area."
The Rugby League Players Association said it was waiting for a report on the state of the Brookvale pitch and was pushing for ground inspections before each game. RLPA chief executive David Garnsey said inspections 48 hours before games would allow the NRL to determine if it needed to shift or postpone games. "For the players' safety to be put at risk is unacceptable and we need to investigate ground inspections," Garnsey said.
"That way they can make a decision whether they can move it to another ground or move it to another time.
"I know that's disruptive but player safety is more important."
Manly chairman Scott Penn said he would ask for a "please explain" from Warringah Council and was at a loss to give a reason why the ground was not up to scratch.
"Council need to rectify it because it wasn't NRL-quality," Penn said.
"The good thing is the next home game isn't until early May so they've got over a month to get it right. But it's not acceptable to have patches like that on Friday night."
