M Collins & Sons Returf Sydney Cricket Ground following Sydney Swans elimination from AFL final series
2010 will be remembered by AFL fans as the third occasion when a Grand final was tied in the history of the game.
On 25 September, 2010 Collingwood and St Kilda fought out a 68 all draw
after St Kilda levelled the score 29 minutes into the final quarter in
front of 100,016 fans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
The Sydney Swans were eliminated 14 days earlier by the Western
Bulldogs 77-72 in a nail biting game after the Swans held a comfortable
lead until half way through the third quarter. Meanwhile back at the
Swans home ground, SCG curator, Tom Parker was also biting his nails
for a very different reason.
Tom Parker had planned to utilise a window of opportunity to rejuvenate
the SCG playing surface between the end of the 2010 AFL ground usage by
the Swans and the commencement of the NSW Cricket season on 21 October
2010. The renovation was dependent upon whether the Swans went all the
way to the Grand Final because there was inadequate time to resurface
and establish the turf after the Grand Final and before the cricket
season.
The SCG turf surface was replaced 10 years ago when the ground was
reconstructed and Tom Parker decided in the autumn of 2010 that the
turf required replacement in order to improve the surface levels and
the turf quality in preparation for the 2010 Cricket season. This
year’s events feature the Ashes tour by England and a one day
International against Sri Lanka.
The SCG would be under the spotlight of world cricket fans and Tom
Parker was anxious to ensure the ground will be presented in the
condition that the international cricket fraternity expect.
The SCG had awarded the contract to strip the existing grass surface
and replace it with washed Legend Couch to M Collins & Sons
(Contractors) Pty Limited.
M Collins & Sons Managing Director, Matt Collins, knew the
contract was dependent upon the Sydney Swans not proceeding into the
historic 2010 grand final. So when he received Tom’s message late in
the evening after the Swans lost to the Western Bulldogs, it was all
systems go.
M Collins & Sons are proud of their association with the SCG
throughout the Company’s 100 year history. Over the years, the Company
has specialised in providing cricket wicket soils, turf and topdressing
materials and has undertaken construction works including SCG’s
reconstruction in 2000 and the laying of the Sydney Football Stadium in
1988.
Matt Collins said, “Legend Couch turf had been selected for the project
because of the proven wear characteristics and its suitability in
Sydney . Other couch varieties were considered however the Legend couch
was the preferable turf variety chosen by Tom Parker.”
M Collins and Sons staff, under the direction of John Matthews,
commenced work at the SCG on 14 September and the removal of the
existing turf and the placement of growing media proceeded very
smoothly until Tom Parker’s visit to the turf farm at Camden on Friday
17 September, just prior to the turf harvesting commencing.
Whilst Tom was at the farm, suddenly there was a loud “bang” and the
power immediately switched off. Tom left the farm and drove out to see
that a bushfire had commenced across the road. Matt Collins was
concerned because the farms two 500 kw transformers had gone offline
and powering the washplant to wash the turf to commence turfing at the
SCG presented another challenge. Tom rang Matt and offered immediate
assistance to keep the program on track.
Fortunately, Integral Energy discovered the cause of the disruption
were two dead magpies near the transformers. Power was reinstated to
enable Col Ramm and his staff to commence the turf washing as planned
the following day. This continued unabated until the 18,000 square
metres of Legend Couch was fully laid at the hallowed ground.
Col Ramm, who managed the turf harvesting and transport, was extremely
pleased with the strength of the Legend Couch as it was mechanically
washed. Each jumbo roll was washed free of soil and organics and
rerolled into tight rolls with minimal breakage occurring.
John Matthews directed the turf laying operations on site at the SCG
and oversaw that every roll of turf was neatly positioned and abutted
the adjoining roll minimising any gaps between the rolls.
As scheduled, the Cricket NSW season commenced at the SCG 20 days later
after the turf laying was completed. Matt Collins said “The SCG staff
had once again done an exceptional job preparing the cricket wicket and
the outfield in the available time. They are very confident the surface
will be presented in top order at the forthcoming Ashes Test in January”
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