Refurbishment for rugby field underway

The main field at Gunnedah Rugby Park has been undergoing an upgrade in recent weeks.

Major upgrades struggled last summer as warm conditions led to the “couch” turf base failing, which caused issues in the autumn when establishing the winter turf of ryegrass to play on.

After the field was used throughout the football season, additional works were identified to raise the standard of the playing surface.

Since the Red Devils’ season finished in August, the curating team has been hard at work as the field has been sprayed and relevelled using a specialised laser levelling machine to improve the drainage and allow for better playability during wet weather.

The field was then resown with a “couch” turf base, with an improved variety (Maya from Barenbrug Seeds) to achieve better germination and coverage.

Following successful sowing, rain is expected to assist in germination.

The ground will be carefully watered, fertilised and mowed during summer to ensure a good base for the autumn sowing of the ryegrass winter turf.

Conditions permitting, the Red Devils hope the ground is in fantastic condition in time for the Central North Rugby Union season which is expected to start in mid-April.