WHEN the Gabba is presented in perfect condition for tomorrow’s AFL grand final, take pride knowing that the Coffs Coast has played a role.

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The head curator at the Gabba is David Sandurski, a man who grew up in and still calls Sawtell home.

“We had a week off from matches just before the AFL finals started. That gave us some time to fix up a couple of issues that we identified but I’m pretty happy with what we’ve done so far,” Sandurski said.

“It’s pretty much just been maintaining it and doing turf management.”

Although the pressure has been on to present the Gabba surface in sensational condition through 33 AFL matches so far this season, Sandurski is certainly well qualified to do the job.

The 42 year-old was the head curator at the Melbourne Cricket Ground for five years prior to his current role.

Before that he was the ground manager at Brisbane’s Allan Border Field where he honed his craft under the watchful eye of Kevin Mitchell Jr.

Although this year has proven his most difficult.

“It’s definitely been the most challenging year,” Sandurski said.

“The hard thing has been not knowing what’s coming. The season started and then there was no AFL. Then there was the first hub, the second hub and the third hub.

“We’ve had to have a lot of flexibility in our plans and have the ability to think quickly.”

When he does get some downtime, Sandurski said he wants to spend some time in Sawtell where his parents Joe and Geraldine still live.

“I plan to do it soon but I don’t know when I’ll be able to,” he said.

“Hopefully the borders will open up soon.”

By Brad GREENSHIELDS