Ground Sizes

[DavidSSS]

Brunswick St, it is still there as a public reserve. Always got the impression Fitzroy were never the same when they moved out of Fitzroy and took over the Junction Oval in StKilda. Don't really know as before I can remember.



Quite a small ground but the pic on page 1 of this thread shows it had deep pockets.

DS

 

[DavidSSS]

Corio Oval, lot's of room out there in the country, seemingly no room for width for their current ground though.



That is one big ground

DS

 

[DavidSSS]

What came before the Adelaide Oval - Football Park:



What is it with these SA and WA grounds, a lot of them seem to be longer and narrower than the MCG.

DS

 

[DavidSSS]

A postage stamp - Glenferrie Oval:



Wow, very small and narrow, actually too narrow to fit the rules which makes me think it got squeezed and made narrower at some point, especially since the 1928 measure is a lot wider. But the measures made by Colin Hutchinson were supposed to be correct as to what he found.

DS

 

[DavidSSS]

Off to StKilda, to watch a Fitzroy game, well, that's how it was when I was a kid. The Junction Oval:



Small, but the dimensions are ok.

DS

 

[DavidSSS]

Somebody turned it into a soccer ground, the Lake Oval had little room for crowds especially on the wing with that strange scoreboard.



Just a bit narrower than the MCG, but very similar.

DS

 

[DavidSSS]

Not going to draw the mud in the middle, here's Moorabbin where StKilda are again based:



Same as the Lake Oval.

DS

 

[LeeToRainesToRoach]

Is it possible to do Yarraville Oval, where Footscray played during the war? Or the Motordrome (on the Olympic Park site) where Melbourne played a few games in the 30's?

 

[Tigers2011]

Great thread. Spotless Stadium is an awful shape - went there in 2018 and forward pockets are almost non existent at the city end.

Gabba and Metricon not too dissimilar to the MCG which is a good thing for our team.

 

[DavidSSS]

Is it possible to do Yarraville Oval, where Footscray played during the war? Or the Motordrome (on the Olympic Park site) where Melbourne played a few games in the 30's?

I don't have measurements for either of those. Might look up Yarraville as that has been a VFA ground so the numbers might be out there somewhere. The Motordome only had one VFL match from what I just looked up, but there was a proposal (which went very close) to relocate Richmond there.

Hard to find this stuff but that 1928 3LO Guide to football was invaluable for the old grounds although the dimensions they provide are often way out from what we see today, quite likely the boundaries have moved with new grandstands and the like being built. Accuracy seems to be an issue with all the sources!

Are Olympic Park and the Motordome the same ground? Doesn't seem completely clear.

I suppose I could try and find Toorak Park too, StKilda played there during the war when the Junction Oval was not available.

Something to look for a little later as I still have a few more grounds to create a comparison for.

DS

 

[LeeToRainesToRoach]

Are Olympic Park and the Motordome the same ground? Doesn't seem completely clear.

Same site. Melbourne played three games there including one against us. There was also an exhibition match played under lights between Richmond and South Melbourne where live commentary at the ground was trialled.

Was interested as aerial photos suggest the ground was very circular (opposite of Yarraville).

 

[Birdman19]

I always thought the Gabba was a much thinner ground, similar to Kardinia Park. I'm pleased that we can still run and spread. Bring on the Cats. We can do this.

 

[LeeToRainesToRoach]

I always thought the Gabba was a much thinner ground, similar to Kardinia Park. I'm pleased that we can still run and spread. Bring on the Cats. We can do this.

Ground itself holds no fears, happy for Salty to pump it up as a boogeyman. Mostly concerned about the humidity which made it slippery and seemed to blunt our edge against Brisbane. Same for Geelong I guess.

 

[Birdman19]

Ground itself holds no fears, happy for Salty to pump it up as a boogeyman. Mostly concerned about the humidity which made it slippery and seemed to blunt our edge against Brisbane. Same for Geelong I guess.

Yeah, a lot more players seem to lose their footing at the Gabba. I'm old school and say use the screw in studs instead of the moulded boots.

 

[DavidSSS]

Same site. Melbourne played three games there including one against us. There was also an exhibition match played under lights between Richmond and South Melbourne where live commentary at the ground was trialled.

Was interested as aerial photos suggest the ground was very circular (opposite of Yarraville).

Nice find that pic.

Looks almost round too although you wonder where they drew the boundaries. Looks a reasonable size but hard to tell.

The past truly is another planet.

Given the narrowness of Glenferrie I thought I would find a couple of aerial photos, so here is what I found on the excellent Boyles Football photos.

Both photos come from a 2008 book called Mud, Muscle and Blood which was published in 2008, there is a reference on Trove. Clearly the photos are much older:

Very straight wings and noticeable that there appear to be only 2 railway lines, there are now 3. Also, the very early stand behind the goals is there and the stand to the left of the goals at what I would think is the Western end is not yet built. One of the pics on Boyles shows that old stand was still there in 1961.

DS

 

[DavidSSS]

Speaking of Yarraville oval mentioned earlier, here's an aerial photo:

Shape is long and not wide but size is difficult to work out from this.

DS

 

[waiting]

Yeah, a lot more players seem to lose their footing at the Gabba. I'm old school and say use the screw in studs instead of the moulded boots.

Not sure they are allowed to wear them.
I will be filthy if our players are slipping over and not wearing the appropriate boots.

 

[waiting]

Nice find that pic.

Looks almost round too although you wonder where they drew the boundaries. Looks a reasonable size but hard to tell.

The past truly is another planet.

Given the narrowness of Glenferrie I thought I would find a couple of aerial photos, so here is what I found on the excellent Boyles Football photos.

Both photos come from a 2008 book called Mud, Muscle and Blood which was published in 2008, there is a reference on Trove. Clearly the photos are much older:

Very straight wings and noticeable that there appear to be only 2 railway lines, there are now 3. Also, the very early stand behind the goals is there and the stand to the left of the goals at what I would think is the Western end is not yet built. One of the pics on Boyles shows that old stand was still there in 1961.

DS

Go past there many times, gee the ground looks small.

 

[DavidSSS]

Go past there many times, gee the ground looks small.

I used to work near there, I know what you mean.

DS

 

[tommystigers]

Nice find that pic.

Looks almost round too although you wonder where they drew the boundaries. Looks a reasonable size but hard to tell.

The past truly is another planet.

Given the narrowness of Glenferrie I thought I would find a couple of aerial photos, so here is what I found on the excellent Boyles Football photos.

Both photos come from a 2008 book called Mud, Muscle and Blood which was published in 2008, there is a reference on Trove. Clearly the photos are much older:

Very straight wings and noticeable that there appear to be only 2 railway lines, there are now 3. Also, the very early stand behind the goals is there and the stand to the left of the goals at what I would think is the Western end is not yet built. One of the pics on Boyles shows that old stand was still there in 1961.

DS

I always remember Glenferrie Oval as being an odd shape and not symmetrical. Going by my now very old recollection i thought the train track side was deformed in some way. Anyone else remember this?