Springfield given tick of approval

THE surface of Brisbane’s multimillion-dollar Springfield base will be given its first test run on Thursday when the flag-favourite Lions train on the new ground for the first time ahead of Sunday’s AFLW grand final against Melbourne.

As the Demons brushed off any concerns over the fitness of star forward Tayla Harris after a shoulder injury scare in Saturday’s preliminary final win over North Melbourne, the Lions have slated Thursday’s main training session for the team’s first run on the ground.

Springfield’s Brighton Homes Arena was confirmed as the host venue for Sunday’s AFLW grand final after being ticked off by turf specialists last week. The Lions then locked in a home premiership decider – and a shot at a second flag – after beating Adelaide by 23 points in Friday night’s preliminary final.

The club’s new $80 million facility at Springfield, which is about 40 minutes from Brisbane’s CBD near Ipswich, only opened a month ago and ground staff have been working “around the clock” to get the turf ready in time.

Brisbane coach Craig Starcevich said the surface continued to look better each day.

“I’m not the groundsman but everyday I walk into work it looks magnificent,” Starcevich said. “We’ve had a couple of walks on it and it’s obviously brand new. It improves daily so the fact they have got it up in a little bit over a month is astounding really.”

The venue, which is listed as having a capacity of 10,000, came into play to host the grand final after the Gabba and Metricon Stadium were both unavailable.

Lions general manager of infrastructure Jake Anson said the club had engaged the help of “national experts” to assist in preparing the turf, which was declared safe to play on after receiving two independent sign-offs last week.

Melbourne will travel to Brisbane for the match on Saturday.