IRRIGATION FIT FOR A WINNING TEAM
12 Jul 2018
The Aspley Hornets Football Club oval recently went through a large upgrade of their grounds to accommodate for the professional AFL games now being played at the venue. A state-of-the-art irrigation system was needed and Toro provided the perfect solution.
Regional football grounds are constantly being challenged to improve the quality of their surfaces to make way for the increasing professionalism of Australian codes. Recently, Queensland’s Aspley Hornets Football Club oval at Graham Road underwent a surface upgrade and renovation of their sprinkler system – upgrading to Toro T7 Series Rotors and P-220 Series Valves.
The oval at Graham Road is home to the Aspley Hornets who play in the NEAFL competition and features the reserve teams of four AFL clubs: Lions, Suns, Swans and Giants. Therefore, the playing surface is required to be up to the high level of AFL standards. 
Chris Dalton, Sports Turf Manager for AFL Queensland, explained that the playing surface at Aspley had previously been suitable for community level football, but wasn’t able to deliver to an AFL standard. This led to the club seeking funding for an upgrade in order to rebuild the playing surface and install new irrigation.
Prior to the upgrade, the irrigation system was over 20 years old and was consequently becoming unreliable. The development works included the installation of Toro T7 Series Rotors and P-220 valves. A 45,000-litre holding tank was also installed, which increased the facility’s total water holding capacity to 135,000 litres. 
Dalton said he has noticed a significant difference in the oval surface since the upgrade to the Toro T7 Series Rotors took place. “I’ve noticed the different watering pattern of T7, which appears to provide a more uniform coverage across its entire range and importantly, doesn’t place too much water close to the sprinkler, creating wet patches,” he explained.
“The changeover to the Toro rotors, in conjunction with the other upgrades, has led to greater efficiencies with the delivery of water and our overall management of the playing surface,” Dalton continued. “As well as the improved performance of the irrigation system, we now have a more sustainable system that will assist our AFLQ team to maintain Aspley’s oval as one of the premier playing surfaces in southeast Queensland.”
In addition to the new facilities, it is an exciting time for the Aspley Hornets Football Club, who hosted their first AFLW match recently as part of the AFLW’s Winter Series competition. 
To learn more about Toro’s irrigation systems, contact them or visit their website via the links below.
