THE closure of North Wangaratta’s home ground will not be the club’s death knell, according to AFL North East Border regional manager John O’Donohue.
The Hawks, already rocked this season by the departure of senior football coach Jay Dale and a host of quality players, were informed of lead contamination in the soil at North Wangaratta Recreation Reserve late last week, forcing a switch in venue to Whorouly for Saturday’s home game against the Lions.
A meeting was held on Monday night with representatives from North Wangaratta Football Netball Club, AFL NEB, Rural City of Wangaratta Council, Wangaratta Clay Target Club and North Wangaratta Recreation Reserve Committee.
O’Donohue said the immediate result was that the Hawks would not have access to their ground in the short term, and more than likely for the rest of the year.
“There is still a bit of testing to be done before we can say how long the reserve will be closed, but our planning has to account for the likelihood of the ground being unavailable for the rest of the year,” O’Donohue said.
“At the moment we are canvassing options for where the club can train and play its games, and the aim is to keep it as close to town as possible.
“There needs to be a level of good will from other clubs, but there is always the worry about extra traffic and what sort of wear and tear will result from that.”
Last Modified on 19/05/2016 14:00