5d8558eb15e1a6c3cb79d2052a5c587f
Subscribe today
© 2025 South Gippsland Sentinel Times

Too much footy for one field

2 min read

PHILLIP Island Football Club says it’s time for a second oval, with its home ground at Cowes Recreation Reserve feeling the pressure of constant use.

The club’s president, Chris Ross, said the oval is packed with activity almost every day of the week, with training every night and games held across weekends. Last Friday night, around 150 Auskick kids filled the ground, and each Sunday, there is anywhere between four and six games played on the one oval.

“It’s used every night,” Mr Ross said. “It’s trained on every night, and it’s played on every second Saturday and every Sunday.”

The oval recently underwent a $300,000 upgrade last year, courtesy of the Bass Coast Shire Council, with new drainage and fresh turf laid down. But the grass didn’t have long to settle before it was back in action.

“It was a bit rugged last year, simply because the grass didn’t have very long to establish,” Mr Ross said. “It only had three months since it had been sowed, and we were on it. Suddenly, you’ve got a dozen teams training on it after three months, so it wasn’t great.”

He said this year the surface has held up better, but recent wet weather and ongoing traffic have started to take a heavy toll.

“It’s still better than some other grounds in the comp, but it’s got that much more traffic on it,” he said.

The club says the Shire did a good job with the upgrade, but the real issue is the number of teams relying on a single oval.

“We do consistently raise concerns, but we’re not having a go at the Shire in regard to the oval,” Mr Ross emphasised. “We want another ground.”

The club has temporarily moved this Friday night’s girls’ game to another venue while maintenance is carried out. Work to replace the artificial turf near the coaching boxes and players’ entrance is set to happen this Friday, with vertical draining scheduled for next week.

In the meantime, the club has asked all teams to stay off the oval this week, with the exception of Sunday’s junior games.

The Sentinel-Times has contacted Bass Coast Shire Council for comment.