It's taken a crew of Wollongong groundskeepers weeks to prepare the Dragon's home turf ahead of their clash with the Rabbitohs on Thursday night.
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From a specific fertilisation regime, to unique mowing techniques, and marking out perfect lines - it takes more than meets the eye to keep the field green and pristine.
"People don't realise how many steps and man hours goes into it," groundskeeper Jamie McNamara of Lake Illawarra said.
"Fertilisation takes weeks leading up to the game."
With months of rain turning Illawarra sports fields into muddy messes, it's a different story for the million-dollar surface at the WIN Stadium, which can handle up to 250mm an hour of rain.
"These fields have been constructed on a really technically specific profile," TAFE Yallah sports turf management teacher David Little said.
"There are very specific type particle sizes in the soil. They're very free draining, and there's a lot of drainage material in the surface as well.
"It can cope with 250mm an hour of rain, so it can get rid of a lot of water and the surface dries out quite quickly ... and with a bit of luck, players can get back on it as soon as possible after rain events."
The grass is a hybrid of a couch grass and a perennial rye - which are basically finer species of grass than your average backyard turf - and makes for a much more tight, compact surface to play on.
"A lot of high end soccer and NRL is played on here ... it just provides players with that little bit extra cushioning,' Mr Little said of the turf.
TAFE NSW sports turf management students were among those prepping the grounds, to learn the ins and outs of higher end outcomes that need to be produced for fields that will be watched on TV.
Among the students was 26-year-old Michael Lee of Figtree, who said taking care of the WIN Stadium field was much more complex than the management of bowling club greens that he is used to.
"We're looking at all the soil structures, it's a lot more complex," Michael said.
"There's a lot of machinery and cutting, and making sure you're consistently doing the right work at the right time.
"You've got to get the planning perfect to ensure the health of the plants is up to scratch.
"There are a lot more renovations on the ground here, which is why it's kept nice all year round."
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Grace Crivellaro
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
