Adelaide Oval head curator Damian Hough faces a tough task this weekend with the venue set to host six games across the inaugural Gather Round.
While Adelaide Oval is renowned as one of Australia’s best surfaces, heavy rain forecast for Friday night and Saturday is set to make Hough and his team’s lives very busy.
Even though Hough is expecting the ground to be in worse shape on Sunday compared to Thursday night, he’s sure player safety won’t be an issue with the turf currently in top condition.
“We’re pretty good, we’re looking forward to it, it’s a nice round to have,” Hough told SEN SA Breakfast.
“(The rain makes it) probably worse, but it’s in really good condition now.
“But you don’t need to be Einstein to realise it’s probably going to be in worse condition come Sunday night compared to tonight.
“Player safety is the factor that’s the biggest concern for us and we think it’ll hold in good stead.
“It’s a free-draining sand, the turf is in really good condition.
“It should take a fair bit (of rain), but a bit like everyone else we’re a bit unsure how well it’s going to hold up.”
Hough says he and his team will aerate the surface at different stages so surface water doesn’t pool up causing issues with footing.
“We’ll sort of start that tonight,” Hough said.
“We’ll start aerating the ground tonight and tomorrow in preparation for the rain on Friday, we’re not sure when that’s going to come on Friday night.
“Then it’s really repairing the ground, fixing up the divots and getting a cut on it.
“We’ll put some product out that helps push the water through the profile, to push it deeper through the surface and give it every chance of not getting surface water on it.”
Another aspect the team will need to stay on top of is repainting lines and logos and Hough has a plan in place to ensure the ground continues to stand out.
“We’ll go out heavy today, the logos are almost complete and they’re popping,” Hough said.
“The lines will get a double mark today, so they should be able to get two games from that and then we’ll look at on Friday night or Saturday getting it done again.
“We’ll touch it up during it, we want it to shine and stand out.
“We’ll give it a coat, it’s not going to get through all four games (so that second coat) will come on Friday night.”
Adelaide Oval hosts the first game of the round with the Crows and Blues facing off on Thursday night.
The Tigers and Swans will take to the field on Friday before two games take place on Saturday and Sunday respectively at the famous venue.