The Age from Melbourne, Victoria, Australia • Page 34

I 34 THE AGE THURSDAY 14 SEPTEMBER 1995 ort Age Waverley set for reduced How It looks. How was meant to look: An artists impression of the original design, showing the ground enclosed by a three-tier grandstand. i to rw ss it is to i it ota i 11 it Jc j. 1 rn siitfi" Au ti 1 i of tit. its evolved.

I tt urik rt aoS i manager Ian of me season, so to speak, (:.:. oiong chief executive Greg siurbce i A i ix 142rr 'C, ii 137mA i 1 iix1 17m I 1, 123m I USrtJ 1 a 145s Su 1 iK 137m (excluding finals) I t. 1 995 fajl, i I i- 0 1994 '1 )i 1993 fr-Mfrit 1 Li 1992 tHBlir 'T 1991 i 1 1 1989 I 'fci 1968 ESF'' 1987 1 j. 1986 I I I 1 3' 1 optly lobbying the AFL for -as Dums back on seats at v- ed. It takes one so-caiied re something is finally I- it I a i 1 If forward, but at Waveitey of 1 i i ind It just adds to the game." -ntitVjii Ting against standardised 10000 20000 Source: 1995 AFL meOa End result leaves ardiiif ect cold playing as close to the fence." Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy has long been a strong proponent of ground standardisation and yesterday the club backed the move.

"It would fall into line with all other sports. The club would support it. It's been a platform of Kevin's for years," general manager Roger Hampson said. The Bombers had been considering forwarding a submission to the league to reduce the size of Waverley in time for Saturday week's preliminary final, but are unlikely to pursue the matter following Geelong's swift rejection of the proposal. Durham said: "If they want to change the structure of Waverley for next season, fine.

Do it during the summer and give all the clubs a chance to comment about it. Moving the goal posts at this time of the season, so to speak, doesn't seem appropriate to me." One AFL club official said the league's request "smacked of the league introducing rules on the Durham said: "There's no prescribed dimensions in the rules of Australian football as to how big a ground should be. "The SCG and Carlton are smaller than other grounds, Geelong and Footscray are longer than other grounds. If you want to have standardisation then that's fine, but let's make a rule and let's talk about it." Sheedy yesterday supported his Richmond counterpart John Northey, who said it might be preferable to play the preliminary final at the MCG on the Sunday. "That might be the best solution.

Play on the Sunday and take one day's less rest. Whatever the case, I think Geelong, Essendon and Richmond should get together," Sheedy said. But Collins said the league would not allow a Sunday preliminary final, even if both clubs were in agreement. "The decision has been made and a game will be played at Waverley," Collins said. "The AFL makes the rules, not the clubs.

We're Continued: PAGE 32 By STEPHEN LINNELL Waverley Park's playing surface is likely to be reduced next year to conform with MCG dimensions as the AFL considers introducing a radical ground-standardisation program. The league yesterday asked Geelong to consider a reduction in the length of Waverley for Saturday week's preliminary final, but the Cats refused. "We've been playing there all year as it is and I don't think you can change the ground rules just because we're going into a finals series," Geelong's chief executive, Greg Durham, said. But the league will pursue the matter over summer and is expected to reduce the size of the ground, which is currently 180 metres long (19 metres longer than the MCG) and 142 metres wide (two metres wider than the MCG). The AFL's general manager of football operations, Ian Collins, yesterday broke the AFL ban on 77te Age to reveal the league was considering standardised playing surfaces.

He said there "probably should be" uniformity. "Most other sports do have a standard playing surface. Australian rules never has, because of the way it's evolved. I think it does have some merit," he said. He said it would be too difficult to ensure all grounds were the same dimensions, but there could be minimum and maximum lengths and widths.

"I think it's important to look at those things for the betterment of the game." He said the goal line at either end at Waverley would be reduced by about nine metres, and the width one metre on either side. The AFL's chief executive, Ross Oakley, speaking via a third party, said: "The whole idea of having all the grounds reasonably standard size is one that appeals to us." He said of the proposed changes for Waverley: "It doesn't take the crowd further away. They're still sitting in the same seats. "All it is, is that you're not 30000 40000 Reg Padey with the original plans. because there was no standard for an Australian rules football oval.

"I was asked to design a football oval, but what size is that? So we designed, geometrically, a perfect oval, a little bit larger than the MCG." Padey did not choose the site the VFL bought 200 acres of grass and market gardens in September 1962 after research suggested Waverley would one day be the geographic centre of Melbourne but doubts it is in a rainbelt. "That could be an urban myth," he said. Hawk Nick Holland displays', his Rising Star Award, i H.awks tls offer I Holland one year By ASHLEY BROWNE Hawthorn Is prepared to allow Nick Holland to sign up for next year only in a bid to keep him out of the clutches of the preying Port Adelaide. Holland's standing as a future champion was confirmed yesterday when he won the $1 1,000 Norwich Rising Star Award, for the leading rookie of 1995. And once again, it underlined just how important the 21-year-old centre half-forward is to the Hawks, who face a massive rebuilding campaign after finishing second last this year and missing the finals for the first time since 1981.

Holland has been offered a small fortune to join Port Adelaide when it receives the green light to join the AFL Adelaide is also believed to be keen on Holland, who was selected by Hawthorn with the 14th pick of the 1992 national draft. But the Hawks are prepared to offer Holland a contract of up to $400,000 for three years which would make him one of the highest-paid players at the club, behind only Jason Dun-stall, John Platten, Chris Lang-ford and Darren Jarman. i But Hawthorn chief executive Peter Hudson said yesterday that rather than run the risk of losing him, they are prepared to take a short-term approach to Holland's contract, in the" hope it will lead to negotiations that will keep him at the club for longer. "Ideally, we would like to do something in the long term. But beggars can't be choosers, and if a one-year contract is all we can do to keep him here for now, then that's what we'll do," Hudson said.

Holland said a decision on his future would be taken when he completed his university exams and when his manager, Greg Griffen, returned from overseas; "At this stage I'm happy where I am. I haven't really made up my mind about next season," Holland said. "But I've been happy at Hawthorn; it's a great club. "The odds are more in favor of me staying there. I had a fantastic year this year and really enjoyed it.

"I'm an Adelaide boy and I do get homesick at times. I enjoy it in Melbourne, but I won't be; pressured into making a decision." 1 Holland won the award yesterday despite missing six games with a shoulder injury? He dominated in a variety of key positions and until his injury had taken the most marks in the competition. His win provided small consolation for sacked coach Peter Knights, whose persistence with Holland after a disappointing 1994 campaign worked wonders. "He showed a lot of confidence in me and gave me a lot of pointers as to what I should do," Holland said. GEELONG defender Mike Mansfield has signed for a further two years with the Cats, extending his one-year contract.

Mansfield agreed to a one-year term with the Cats after heavy courting by the Freman-tle Dockers last summer and the news of Mansfield's firm commitment to the Cats was welcomed by the club. ii a 'If it had been finished, it would In Padey's plan, there was also a railway station next door to the stadium, but the State Government decided against building the track. The closest a train runs is to Glen Waverley, five kilometres away. Of the disasters that have plagued Waverley, Padey said the public had not seen the worst of it "We were plagued by back-swimming beetles," he said, a legacy of the dam built to feed the sprinkler system, the nozzles of which became infested with the bugs. PATRICK SMITH scope eyes to see the far wing, but mere binoculars to observe play on the one directly In front of you.

The AFL is happy to change the size of its second-most Important ground on the second-last Saturday of the season. Yes, we are bewildered, too. Oakleys argument is flawed from full-back to full-forward, from wing to wing. He says that after playing on the MCG surface, described by Robert Walls as shocking, Essendon or Richmond, along with Geelong, will get the benefit of playing at Waverley the following week which Is apparently smoother than carpet and softer than a half-Inflated Sherrln. We are it "Tin Ad-libbing AFL trips up again giide drew plans believed to incorporate the best features of stadiums in London, Helsinki, the United States and Japan.

It was his vision that Waverley be built in 39 stages. The project was launched in 1964, with a publication titled Waverley, A Permanent Home At Last For Australia's National Game. In that brochure, VFL Park was described as "majestic in a "complete sporting with plans for cricket and athletics ovals, squash, basketball and table tennis courts and an indoor swimming pool. Padey believes the actions of former Premier John Cain in 1983, which effectively put an end to further extensions of Waverley Park, also ended his dream. "It would be pointless to now finish the project," he said.

"It is 30 years old and the toilets, the seats, everything, would have to be done again. As long as the final is not played at Waverley it cannot be considered financially viable to finish." Padey said he was neither proud nor ashamed of Waverley Park. "Of course I'm disappointed at the result, but it's difficult to become too upset over something that was never finished. "It was the most contentious of jobs in my career as an architect. Certainly, some people have a little go at me about it.

But, in my view, it could have been the stadium we wanted." of racial abuse. What followed was possibly the most absurd news conference In the history of Australian sport. Off went Oakley and Tony Peek in another rushed attempt to settle the problem. Now come the Waverley Park woes. After having all season to foresee and tackle the problem, the commission offers the extraordinary compromise of changing the size of the oval.

It is Inept administration and the public must Just shake Its head In dismay. Waverley Park has a prominent role In Australia football program. It has grown into the natural place for the re-season final and generates much atmosphere once the smoke from fireworks settles and you can see the players. That normally just after half-time. Promoted by the AFL, scheduling Important games, and Just believing In the place will see the public embrace the ground once more.

The AFL does not like critics. It does not do much to keep them at bay. count and Inter still being dis satisfied with the manner of voting. "I'm bitterly disappointed with the way the final vote was achieved," he said. "People are crying up there and this decision will come back to haunt those who voted against us." Heidelberg spokesman Peter Tsaklis said his club would consult Its solicitors today about whether It would pursue further legal action.

Soccer Australia now hopes to release Its 12-team draw as soon as possible with two new clubs, By CAROLINE OVERINGTON Waverley Park. The Yellow Peril of sporting venues. It should be bulldozed, or perhaps filled in. At the very least, it should be handed over to an athletics club for laps. And the person who designed it should be shot.

Steady now, says architect Reg Padey. And with some justification Padey is that person. "I've heard the criticism and I accept it," he said. that stadium is as much; a disappointment to me as it is to all football supporters." In Padey's view, the stadium he designed in 1964 is not finished, nor will it ever be. "It's too late now," he said.

"Waverley is 30 years old, dated. But if it had been finished, it would have been what people wanted." Padey, who recently retired, rates Waverley Park as the "most contentious" of projects he was involved in. He agrees the playing surface seems huge, and the stadium lacks atmosphere. "If the members' stand extended all the away around as it was designed to do, the ground would look smaller and that would give it the atmosphere it needs," he said. "With Waverley unfinished, the sound and the atmosphere just floats away." The result, he said, is that Waverley Park appears bigger than it really is, and was only made that size in the first place Ristorante Roberto, Scusa Mi.

The Society, The Argo Inn. Monsoon. ome restaurants not Monday. ten Cathay Pacific EPICURE I I 11 Entry Coupon 1iftmIIN.Ml4Slt Picture: MARK WILSON have been what people wanted. "We had a dream but it wasn't achieved," he said.

"That is disappointing because Sir Kenneth Luke, who came up with the idea, was a visionary man." Prior to the launch of the Waverley project, all of Melbourne's VFL football ovals were within 10 kilometres of the GPO. None were owned by football clubs; none were purpose-built for football. As part of the design process for what was intended to be a stadium, Padey travelled to 26 countries, then sure Essendon, Richmond and Geelong would happily allow Carlton and North Melbourne or West Coast the honor of playing on Gods own surface at Waverley. They wouldn't give it a second thought. Ian Collins, again breaking the AFL ban on contact with The Age, said ground sizes would be standardised next season.

(Oakley is expected to call for the death penalty for Collins after this latest breach of the party line. Either that or 40 minutes answering talk-back calls on 3UZs morning sports show Play SchooL Collins is expected to opt for the death penalty.) What we have seen this week Is typical AFL administration on the run. Last season there was panic on melees when Footscray and West Coast acted like children at half-time. Collins attempted to broker a deal but was thwarted by the commission. The AFL ended up In court.

After two years the AFL had no satisfactory measure to deal with Michael Longs accusation now seems no way back for the three dumped clubs Melbourne Zebras, Heidelberg United and Parramatta Eagles as Soccer Australia plans to launch its new-look A-League early next month. Soccer Australia president Neville Wran described last night's 46-14 vote as "an outstanding vote of support for soccer's march towards The ballot was shrouded In some controversy, with Parramatta Eagles' president Sam Vella demanding a second 1 Taste the Wines and meet the Winemakers at The Exhibition of Victorian Winemakers -Sunday 10 to Friday 15 September The Exhibition of Victorian Winemakers annually offers an opportunity to taste wines of the new vintage and meet Victoria winemakers. And over thirty of Melbourne's top restaurants and cafes will offer special Victorian Winemakers lunches during the exhibition week. WIN A HOLIDAY TO HONS KONO The trip for two to Hong Kong will include a business class airfare flying Cathy Pacific. 5 nights accommodation at the Excelsior Hotel and entry to The Exhibition of Victorian Winemakers in Hong Kong plus lunch and dinner on November 4.

The prize is valid between November 3 and 8 only. HOW TO ENTER: Fill In your name, address and phone number on the coupon below and place this coupon in the entry box located at the Victorian Winemakers' Exhibition from September 10-15. Oil clip the coupon and attach proof of lunching at a panicipating restaurant and send to The AgeVictorian Winemakers' Exhibition Competition. GPO Box 1986R. Melbourne 3001.

Victorian Winemakers' Lunches Two courses and two glasses of Victorian wine 25 Monday 10 to Friday 15 September. Make your reservation direct with these restaurants. Waverley Park, according to Ross Oakley, is the best playing surface in Australia. Then why are we playing two semi-finals at the MCG this week? And why have only six of the past 25 finals been at Waverley? If Essendon wins its next two matches and reaches the grand final it will have played two finals at the MCG and two at Waverley. What is its problem, asks Oakley.

It's this. If the Bombers' grand final opponent is Carlton, then the Blues will have played three finals and all at the MCG. Even Stalin would have seen some injustice In that. The harshest critics of Waverley Park within the AFL say that one of the main problems with the ground is its size, roughly that of a small planet. If you were not born with telescopes for eyes they could be playing cricket on the far wing and you wouldn't know.

So, yesterday, Oakley suggested that the AFL Commission would consider reducing the size of the ground. In that case you would still need tele- THE AGE PRICES Rttcommentied and Mavimum onty MONDAY TO FRIDAY VlctoriaSthn. NSWSth-Eiistorn SA by rowffiOc NSW SydneyfSih. AuttJ TMrninfaKino Fhmtort Brofctn HtllACTCoomtNSW Slrt. Coail Oumnilintl 1 30 Alice 11 50 fVrth 1 70 DrfrvKatharini 11 85 Othr placet: Pric on application to ntwv agent) Print, and publtthMl by 8TUART 8IMSON, of 250 Sptnccr Stnttt, Mttbournt, 3000, for Oivld 8ym A Co.

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Kayes on King. Le Gourmet. Masani on Drummond, Melbourne Catch. O'Connell's. Restaurant Suntory, TBI I Victorian Winemakers Competition CPU By MICHAEL COCKERILL and LAURIE SCHWAB Soccer Australia has finally won a mandate to proceed with a streamlined version of the national league following a tense two-hour meeting at Sydney Cricket Ground last night.

Three months of often acrimonious debate, in and out of court, ended when stakeholders gave the national body the required 75 per cent majority to amend its constitution to allow for a reduced 12-team league. Although further legal action has not been ruled out, there Newcastle Breakers and Canberra Cosmos, formally admitted to the A-League last night. Victorian Soccer Federation chairman Henry Siwka said his board would now draw up a format for a summer cup competition, '4 "At least it will allow the axed clubs to play, rather than hsvlnrf to remain inactive from the end of their season back in May until the Victorian rem let. League kicks off again in March," he said. PAGE 32: mora aoectr.

The Exhibition of NAMIi AODM If I.