WITH the Melville Oval redevelopment still yet to get underway, safety concerns have forced the Hamilton Kangaroos to move netball fixtures to Pedrina Park immediately.

The Hamilton Kangaroos Football Netball Club executive ticked off the move on Tuesday night following a safety inspection by Netball Victoria on Tuesday after concerns were raised by players.

The inspection deemed the courts unsafe for playing or training, forcing all netball activity to the newly redeveloped courts at Pedrina Park, starting with Saturday’s fixture against South Warrnambool.

Club chairman, Lachy Patterson said while inconvenient, the club was focused on putting things in place and the netballers returning to Melville Oval when the redevelopment works are complete.

“It was nothing particularly prominent, there was a number of queries from opposition clubs and the courts are continuing to get older,” he said.

“Other clubs had spoken to the league and Netball Victoria about the condition of the court

“We had done some remedial work in terms of cleaning and patching up cracks, but player safety is our ultimate concern and we wanted to make sure we had Netball Victoria have a look at them.”

Despite the netballers moving to Pedrina Park and increasing the volunteer load across two different venues, Patterson is excited about the prospect of the players utilising a top class facility and enjoying improved playing conditions.

“It is not ideal, but I think our club is strong enough to support both aspects,” he said.

“They are excited about playing on high level facilities and so they are more than willing to come down and support

“Our netballers, who are going fairly well this season, have the opportunity to play on A grade level courts and I am excited to see how they go.

“A lot of them have been training up there, so certainly it is not a foreign environment for them.”

With an imminent announcement in the next few weeks regarding the works at Melville Oval, Southern Grampians Shire manager community wellbeing, Susannah Milne said the Kangaroos’ move to Pedrina Park was timed well ahead of the club being forced from the Hamilton oval during the upgrades.

“In consultation with Netball Victoria and the Hamilton Kangaroos, netball has been moved to Pedrina Park until the Melville Oval redevelopment is complete,” she said.

“There have been ongoing problems with the aged court surface due to movement and currently the leaves are presenting a continual slip hazard for players.

“With the construction of the Melville Oval redevelopment imminent, the timing is right to temporarily move to an alternative facility anyway. 

“The Pedrina Park courts are a wonderful, newly completed facility and we look forward to supporting the Kangaroos throughout their season there.”

The Kangaroos will host South Warrnambool at Pedrina Park on Saturday in a top three Hampden Football Netball League clash.