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Hands Oval
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JE Hands Memorial Park, more commonly known as Hands Oval, is a stadium in South Bunbury, Western Australia. The ground is mainly used for Australian rules football matches, but has also hosted cricket and soccer.
Key Information
Uses
[edit]Australian rules football
[edit]The oval has been the home ground of South Bunbury Football Club and in the South West Football League since the early 1950s.[2] Hands Oval has also hosted five West Australian Football League matches, with the first being held on 1 April 1984 with East Perth defeating Swan Districts by 14 points. The record attendance for the ground was set during this match, with 6573 spectators attending the game.[3]
The ground is home to the South West Football League headquarters and hosts its grand final each year, with 4,075 spectators attending the 2024 grand final.[4]
The ground also hosted two Fremantle Dockers pre-season NAB Challenge in 2009 and 2011:[5]
Hands Oval hosted a pre-season match between the West Coast Eagles and North Melbourne Football Club on 1 March 2025, with a crowd of 7,032.[6][7] On 8 June 2025, the ground hosted its first AFL match for premiership points, with North Melbourne defeating West Coast by ten points, in front of a record crowd of 12,715.[8] This was the first game in a three-year deal for North Melbourne to play two home matches in Western Australia, with the other match played at Optus Stadium.[9]
| 2009, Preseason | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 14 March 2009 | Fremantle 20.6 (126) | def. | Carlton 12.11 (83) | Hands Oval (crowd: 5,000 est.) | |
| 2011, Preseason | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 5 March 2011 | Fremantle 9.14 (68) | def. by | Western Bulldogs 14.14 (98) | Hands Oval (crowd: 4,000 est.) | |
| 2025, Preseason | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 1 March 2025 | North Melbourne 9.15 (69) | def. by | West Coast 11.5 (71) | Hands Oval (crowd: 7,032) | |
| 2025, RD13 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sunday, 8 June 2025 | North Melbourne 9.8 (62) | def. | West Coast 6.16 (52) | Hands Oval (crowd: 12,715 Ground Record) | |
Cricket
[edit]Hands Oval has hosted three List A cricket matches with the Western Warriors as the home team:[10]
v
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South Australia won by 8 wickets.
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v
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Western Australia won by 5 wickets.
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v
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Western Australia won by 66 runs.
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Soccer
[edit]Hands Oval hosted an A-League pre-season match between Perth Glory and Gold Coast United at the beginning of the 2009–10 season, with Gold Coast defeating Perth 1–0.[11] A crowd of 2985 people attended the match:
| Perth Glory | 0 - 1 | Gold Coast United |
|---|---|---|
| Report | Porter  23' |
The ground hosted the Australia women's national soccer team in a friendly v Panama on July 5, 2025, losing 0-1.[12][13]
Redevelopment
[edit]Between 2022 and 2024, the stadium underwent a $17.5 million redevelopment. It received a brand new grandstand and new changerooms,[4][14][15] as well as coaches boxes and a media centre.[16]
References
[edit]- ^ "Hands Oval". Austadiums. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
- ^ History Archived 13 September 2009 at the Wayback Machine - South Bunbury Football Club
- ^ "Round 1 - East Perth vs Swan Districts". WAFL. Archived from the original on 8 February 2018. Retrieved 7 February 2018.
- ^ a b "See the pictures: What Hands Oval overhaul could look like". South Western Times. 2 November 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
- ^ Hands Oval - Austadiums
- ^ "2025 AAMI Community Series: West Coast v North Melbourne". City of Bunbury. Retrieved 3 May 2025.
- ^ "North Melbourne announces three-year Western Australia agreement". nmfc.com.au. 12 November 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2025.
- ^ "AFL R13 match report: Roos snatch thrilling win from Eagles' grasp". nmfc.com.au. 8 June 2025.
- ^ "Roos to play two 'home' games in WA from 2025-27". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
- ^ Hands Oval, Bunbury - CricketArchive
- ^ Glory go close in battle of Bunbury Archived 2011-02-25 at the Wayback Machine - PerthGlory.com.au.
- ^ "CommBank Matildas lock in Slovenia and Panama in Western Australia | Matildas". www.matildas.com.au. 12 May 2025. Retrieved 12 May 2025.
- ^ AAP (5 July 2025). "New-look Matildas stunned by world No.56 Panama". ESPN.
- ^ "Redevelopment of Hands Oval". City of Bunbury. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
- ^ "North Melbourne, AFL, WA government set to bring games to Bunbury's Hands Oval". ABC News. 30 October 2024. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
- ^ "Bunbury to host historic AFL clash as Roos sell games to WA". The West Australian. 30 October 2024. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
Bunbury's Hands Oval has just had the finishing touches put on a $17.5 million redevelopment to build a completely new grandstand on top of what was previously the outdated South West Football League headquarters.