JE Hands Memorial Park, more commonly known as Hands Oval, is an oval-shaped sports stadium in South Bunbury, Western Australia. The ground is mainly used for Australian rules football matches, but has also hosted cricket and soccer.
JE Hands Memorial Park | |
 Interactive map of Hands Oval | |
Former names | South Bunbury Showgrounds |
|---|---|
| Location | Blair Street, South Bunbury, Western Australia |
| Coordinates | 33°20′46″S 115°38′34″E / 33.34611°S 115.64278°E |
| Owner | City of Bunbury |
| Operator | South Bunbury Football Club |
| Capacity | 14,350[1] |
| Surface | Grass |
Record attendance | 13,331 (6 June 2026 - AFL match between Fremantle and North Melbourne) |
| Construction | |
| Opened | c. 1954 |
| Tenants | |
| South Bunbury Football Club North Melbourne Football Club (AFL) (2025-present) | |
Sports
editAustralian rules football
editThe oval's primary usage is as an Australian rules football ground. The South West Football League (SWFL) is headquartered at the ground, with most finals and grand finals played there. The 2024 SWFL grand final attracted a crowd of 4,075.[2] SWFL club the South Bunbury Football Club have played home games at the oval since the early 1950s.[3]
Hands Oval has also hosted five West Australian Football League (WAFL) matches, with the first being held on 1 April 1984 between East Perth and Swan Districts, which was won by East Perth by 14 points. A then-record attendance of 6,573 was set at the match.[4]
The oval has been the site of several Australian Football League (AFL) matches. The Fremantle Football Club have hosted two pre-season games, specifically in 2009 and 2011. It would take until 2025 for AFL to return to Hands Oval, when Melbourne-based side North Melbourne announced it would shift two home games per season to Western Australia, as part of a multi-year deal with the state government.[5][6] West Coast and North Melbourne played before a crowd of 7,032 in a pre-season match on 1 March 2025,[7] before the two sides met again on 8 June 2025, marking the venue's first AFL premiership match. North Melbourne defeated West Coast by ten points, in front of a then-record crowd of 12,715.[8] That figure was broken on 6 June 2026 when 13,331 watched Fremantle defeat North Melbourne by a record margin.[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) | |
| 2026, RD13 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Saturday, 6 June 2026 | North Melbourne 4.7 (31) | def. by | Fremantle 24.11 (155) | Hands Oval (crowd: 13,331 Ground Record) | |
Cricket
editHands Oval has hosted three List A cricket matches with the Western Warriors as the home team:[10]
v |
South Australia won by 8 wickets. |
v |
Western Australia won by 5 wickets. |
v |
Western Australia won by 66 runs. |
Soccer
editHands 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
editReferences
edit- ↑ "Hands Oval". Austadiums. Retrieved 24 August 2025.
- 1 2 "See the pictures: What Hands Oval overhaul could look like". South Western Times. 2 November 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2024.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "North Melbourne announces three-year Western Australia agreement". nmfc.com.au. 12 November 2024. Retrieved 3 May 2025.
- ↑ "Roos to play two 'home' games in WA from 2025-27". AFL.com.au. Retrieved 13 November 2024.
- ↑ "2025 AAMI Community Series: West Coast v North Melbourne". City of Bunbury. Retrieved 3 May 2025.
- ↑ Schmook, Nathan (8 June 2025). "Roos snatch thrilling win from inaccurate Eagles' grasp". afl.com.au. Retrieved 9 June 2026.
- ↑ Michael Phillips (7 June 2026). "Bunbury the big winner after Dockers defeat North Melbourne". WA Today. MSN.
- ↑ 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.