Best / Worst grounds

[Big O]

What is everyones opinion of the best and worst grounds in the comp. I havent seen a lot of the grounds but the valley has a rep for producing muck heaps in the Winter.

The two worst grounds would have to be Silvan and Belgraves, watched a mate play on both grounds two years ago and could not believe they were allowed to play in those conditions. Both grounds were covered in a foot of mud with not a blade of grass to be seen.

The best grounds i have seen so far would be Wooris, Healesvilles and Powellys.

Thoughts?

 

[rosy3]

Without a smidgeon of bias, from a non-player perspective, I'd say Boner Park was the best ground last season. Very scenic for the supporters, large size and good surface for the players and and the added bonus that Thornton rarely lose there.

Some of the other grounds defied belief. Muddy, uneven, hilly, looking like patchwork quilts, miniature size etc. It was hard for supporters to see from one side to the other at some grounds they were mounded up so much in the middle and at others the players needed one leg a foot longer than the other to be able to run properly.

 

[pupsta]

Healsville by far the best ground. awesome day for both grand finals this year and they shouldnt be played anywhere else. other than that gembrook too windy Woori and emerald used to be good, silvan, mt evelyn, junction, olinda too boggy in winter, powelly, seville, warby, wandin too hilly, yarra glen just weird, belgrave and upwey shite, sth too small, kinglake i dunno yet but if the travel wasnt a problem alex, thornton and yea are probably a far second to healsville and should be considered for finals.

 

[Tigersman]

I played a few games against seville (spelling?) a few years ago and that ground was a joke!
a bog heap and only a mountain goat could climb the hill to one of the pockets.
They had a perfectly flat ground right next to it that I could not believe they werent using.
gembrooks ground was good before the big trees went.

Olindas away rooms were pretty bad also.

 

[wtfa]

Yea football ground by a torpeado punt, has one of the best surfaces with the exception of the Turf wicket area, good spectator facilities with the refurbishment to the Old Grandstand including visitor facilities. I just see that they have also had the netball court re done.
Alexandra ground is also good plenty of room to run on the ball facilities improving.
Thornton reminds me of the old Glenferie oval unique good atmosphere.
The old MDFA grounds and some Yarra Valley great if there is not much rain, But footy is a winter sport The AFL tends to spoil the game by having controlled atmosphere grounds now.

 

[banana breath]

Healsville by far the best ground. awesome day for both grand finals this year and they shouldnt be played anywhere else. other than that gembrook too windy Woori and emerald used to be good, silvan, mt evelyn, junction, olinda too boggy in winter, powelly, seville, warby, wandin too hilly, yarra glen just weird, belgrave and upwey shite, sth too small, kinglake i dunno yet but if the travel wasnt a problem alex, thornton and yea are probably a far second to healsville and should be considered for finals.

Healesville is the best - you are correct here, but to say Thornton is a far 2nd is way off the mark.
It is just an extension of a cow paddock.
Alex is 2nd best, then Yarra Junction.
Thornton, Belgrave, Sth Belgrave and Seville are the worst for several different reasons!

 

[rosy3]

....to say Thornton is a far 2nd is way off the mark.
It is just an extension of a cow paddock.

Piffle Sounds like sour grapes as a result of a Boner Park flogging bb.

 

[localfootyguru]

My thoughts on best grounds:
Healesville by a mile - great facilities and surface and all grand finals should be played there.
Woori Yallock - always in good condition and the facilities aren't too bad either. Good atmosphere for finals.
Warburton - awesome surface and great atmosphere. Poor visitors facilities and never any hot water which I am told will be fixed prior to the 2008 season.
Gembrook - Good surface and facilities but always windy.
Monbulk - great facilities and despite being on the side of a hill the ground is always presented in great condition. Linemarking of the oval is like an AFL ground.
Powelltown - great atmosphere and always a good welcome from the locals.

Worst grounds:
Belgrave - surface is terrible, rough and uneven and this is when it is not wet and muddy.
Olinda - spent heaps of money doing this ground up but has been a complete failure. Lucky the hospitality is always good there.
Silvan - terrible!! Small and with the red mud that you can never get the stain out of your gear. Will be interesting to see what the new ground is going to be like.
Seville - need one leg shorter than the other to play there!!!

 

[banana breath]

My thoughts on best grounds:
Healesville by a mile - great facilities and surface and all grand finals should be played there.
Woori Yallock - always in good condition and the facilities aren't too bad either. Good atmosphere for finals.
Warburton - awesome surface and great atmosphere. Poor visitors facilities and never any hot water which I am told will be fixed prior to the 2008 season.
Gembrook - Good surface and facilities but always windy.
Monbulk - great facilities and despite being on the side of a hill the ground is always presented in great condition. Linemarking of the oval is like an AFL ground.
Powelltown - great atmosphere and always a good welcome from the locals.

Worst grounds:
Belgrave - surface is terrible, rough and uneven and this is when it is not wet and muddy.
Olinda - spent heaps of money doing this ground up but has been a complete failure. Lucky the hospitality is always good there.
Silvan - terrible!! Small and with the red mud that you can never get the stain out of your gear. Will be interesting to see what the new ground is going to be like.
Seville - need one leg shorter than the other to play there!!!

I can't believe l'm saying this, but l totally agree with your summary local.

 

[Tigersman]

Whats wrong with souths ground bananabreath?

 

[banana breath]

Whats wrong with souths ground bananabreath?

Last season we had 3 players do their ankles on that ground due to the patchiness. Very uneven!

 

[Tigersman]

Fair call. It is a bit rough but I would have half a dozen grounds as worse than Souths. Might be showing some bias though!

Your not going to have to worry about it now that souths gone to eastern.

 

[drago from ussr]

having played on all the grounds apart from kinglakes in the past 5 years ill share my thoughts.....
Best.
Healsville - Size room and facilities all top of the range
Alex - great size and even surface ..sufficent rooms
Yea - up there with healsville apart from kicking at goal from the pocket you have to kick round a tree
woori - good even surface good rooms and viewing areas

thornton -great surface and drainage with views and atmosphere... netball courts and visitor rooms need improving to be amonst top
gembrook -need taller trees for wind otherwise great

sth belbrave - very uneven and to small
belgrave - even worse surface is killing that ground ...really bad.
seville - what i believe to be the worst to play on an uneven ground that bad with a perfectly good one next door is ridiculous... not a fan of the concrete floors either in any rooms carpets the go
mt evelyn only played there once was 2 ft deep in mud same as wandin monbulk and olinda...
powelly.- not bad slight hill but ok locals great
yarra glen .. feels out of proportion like the goals are in the wrong spot grass never mowed ....otherwise could be good ground
junction ... only played there in bad conditions but looks like it could be a good ground in summer ... gets really boggy drainage not that good but one of the better grounds

 

[rosy3]

thornton -great surface and drainage with views and atmosphere... netball courts and visitor rooms need improving to be amonst top

Be prepared to revise your list to include Thornton amongst the top grounds drago.

Plenty of off-season works are planned and happening at Thornton. A wonderful playground has just been built. The foundations are already laid for a brand new netball court and it will be ready for the new season. It will be a wonderful asset and great to have the girls playing in the same place as the footy. Work will start soon on the rooms and other buildings.

There are a few working bees ahead of us all and I reckon visiting teams will be pleasantly surprised when they next come to play at Boner Park.

 

[rumblah]

having played on all the grounds apart from kinglakes in the past 5 years ill share my thoughts.....
Best.
Healsville - Size room and facilities all top of the range
Alex - great size and even surface ..sufficent rooms
Yea - up there with healsville apart from kicking at goal from the pocket you have to kick round a tree
woori - good even surface good rooms and viewing areas

thornton -great surface and drainage with views and atmosphere... netball courts and visitor rooms need improving to be amonst top
gembrook -need taller trees for wind otherwise great

sth belbrave - very uneven and to small
belgrave - even worse surface is killing that ground ...really bad.
seville - what i believe to be the worst to play on an uneven ground that bad with a perfectly good one next door is ridiculous... not a fan of the concrete floors either in any rooms carpets the go
mt evelyn only played there once was 2 ft deep in mud same as wandin monbulk and olinda...
powelly.- not bad slight hill but ok locals great
yarra glen .. feels out of proportion like the goals are in the wrong spot grass never mowed ....otherwise could be good ground
junction ... only played there in bad conditions but looks like it could be a good ground in summer ... gets really boggy drainage not that good but one of the better grounds

The second ground is used specifically for the juniors.

 

[Punt Road Feral]

Yea football ground by a torpeado punt, has one of the best surfaces with the exception of the Turf wicket area, good spectator facilities with the refurbishment to the Old Grandstand including visitor facilities. I just see that they have also had the netball court re done.
Alexandra ground is also good plenty of room to run on the ball facilities improving.
Thornton reminds me of the old Glenferie oval unique good atmosphere.
The old MDFA grounds and some Yarra Valley great if there is not much rain, But footy is a winter sport The AFL tends to spoil the game by having controlled atmosphere grounds now.

The ground becomes boggy through the centre of the forward 50's when it rains heavily

Plenty of off-season works are planned and happening at Thornton. A wonderful playground has just been built. The foundations are already laid for a brand new netball court and it will be ready for the new season. It will be a wonderful asset and great to have the girls playing in the same place as the footy. Work will start soon on the rooms and other buildings.

Didn't they get one a few years ago?

 

[Gemgirl]

I wish you would stop picking on the wind at Gembrook! If it's windy there, it's windy everywhere else! I've been blown aound on just about every ground in the valley. The trees will grow (eventually).