When the Goulburn Mulwaree Council announced the installation of a new irrigation system for the Marulan Soccer Fields, Marulan Football Club president Dan Cooper was blown away.
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It was, Cooper said, one of the biggest advancements made for the club during his lifetime.
"It was only a few years ago, before we'd had the rain that we've had in the last few years, where we were calling off games because of the dust," he said.
"It's huge for the town, the town hasn't seen anything like this as long as I've been alive. There's been a lot of feedback from even the older guys who used to play out at Marulan back when it was a dirt track.
"A few people made the comment that there's a lot of skin left on those paddocks out there."
The system was paid for by the council, with a contribution from the Village Discretionary Fund.
Once it is installed and the grass has grown, Cooper hopes that it can lead to big things for the Marulan club.
"Soon there'll be a decent ground where, who knows, we might be able to hold bigger and better events there," he said.
"Whether it be Association Cups, semi-finals, grand finals. If you've got a good pitch, people want to play on the best surfaces they can and, all going well, hopefully we'll have that in the next 12 months."
As the installation process progresses, Cooper believes the surfaces will be playable by the start of the 2022 season.
"We were hoping to get everything up and running with the oval itself, the irrigation and the top dressing on the topsoil seeded, and that'll give us a few months before the start of the season to hopefully establish a good covering of grass there," he said.
As one of the oldest clubs in the Southern Tablelands Football Association, Cooper is pleased that Marulan amenities are starting to be upgraded.
"We're one of the oldest clubs in the Southern Tablelands and Southern Highlands as far as I know," he said.
"It's well over 80 years that we've been running for now, it's just good to be a part of it. After growing up playing on those fields, it'll be good for those kids who are growing up on them now, and can hopefully appreciate what they'll have."
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