New machine gets to work on plagued Ray Finlayson Sporting Complex turf

Turf issues which have plagued Ray Finlayson Sporting Complex are finally being addressed with a state-of-the-art machine breathing new life into the grounds. A soil drainage machine approved by the council to be bought for $293,605 in September last year has begun chipping away at the grounds which have had issues since opening in 2017. Mayor Glenn Wilson said the council had been affected by lead times on vehicles and the Vibra-Sandmaster had only recently arrived, but was thrown straight into action. “It’s not a fast action where you can do the whole field in a day, it’s a very tedious process,” he said. “However, having viewed the early results, things are looking positive at this point.” Mr Wilson said if things continued the way they were, he was feeling positive the complex might be available for sports to use next year — particularly rugby, soccer and cricket. “This particular machine helps to remediate the soil by cutting lines in the soil then replacing it with more free-draining soil,” he said. “This will allow better root and plant health to be able to make a better playing surface for our rectangle-based sports and cricket. “Fixing up the surface obviously has the most impact for our local associations, however, it can lead to some quality games from some of our more State-based competitions.”