With recent works having McCarthy Homes oval looking in top shape for the season ahead, the club is now pleased to formally announce William Pearce as the Head Curator for McCarthy Homes Oval.

This is a significant appointment for the club, as the field has been a constant battle for our committed army of volunteers and the tireless efforts of Facilities Director Chris Dennis in securing grants and funding for upgrades and maintenance.

With an industry recognised expert in place, the Magpies are now in a strong position to ensure every investment in the field is spent diligently and with clear purpose based on the advice and research from a highly regarded turf health specialist.

A qualified Agronomist, Will has held an interest in Turf since he first took Agricultural Science as a subject in Year 9.  As a result, he tailored his learning from that point on to set himself up for a career in a field he is passionate about.  After completing Year 12 he studied a Bachelor Degree in Ag Science majoring in Plant and Soils, where in the final 2 years of his course he further specialised in turf grass science and turf health.  During this time, he also worked as a field assistant for the QLD Government in turf research, underlining his commitment and passion to his chosen career.

Will graduated with Honours and after working in the field for 2-3 years he landed at his current ‘dream role’ with Sports Turf Research International (STRI) where he hass worked on numerous research projects covering a wide array of aspects within the warm season turf industry. Some of these include genotype selections, screening turfgrass cultivars to various environmental and sports field stresses, turf breeding, and using turf as an erosion and sediment control measure.

Other research projects have looked at improving the management practices on turf production farms to reduce water usage, associated nutrient run-off and leaching. Will has also utilised satellite imagery to assess turfgrass area coverage in Australian capital cities.

As a recognised expert in sports turf, Will has spent time in the UK and throughout South East Asia acting as a consultant to Wimbledon, FIFA, Premier League Clubs, Bundesliga Clubs and other major sporting organisations to assist in pitch preparation and turf grass health.

Will is local to the Chelmer/Graceville area, loves a beer down at the club and has represented the Woodsmen/Western Magpies with distinction in past seasons before he suffered an ACL injury on a dodgy field, just another reason for him to be passionate about field quality and turf health!  As an added bonus, the club Best & Fairest Medal is already named after him before he starts, sharing his name of course with club legend Billy Peirce!

More information about Will can be found here:  http://www.queenslandstem.edu.au/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Agronomist.pdf

If you would like to get involved in assisting the volunteers on the preparation and maintenance of McCarthy Homes Oval, please get in touch with Will Pearce – Head Curator - will.pearce@strigroup.com, 0407 779 161.