By Violet Li
A high-growth soccer club in the City of Casey is crying out for more space and a major ground upgrade.
Lynbrook Falcons Sports Club, based at the Lawson Poole Reserve in Cranbourne, has about 400 players, and the number has been growing alongside the population in the municipality, president Llewellyn Moses said.
However, its facilities have not been keeping up with the growth, according to the president.
The space problem starts with the visibly tight storage room – despite recently undergoing an upgrade.
“We’re almost at the stage where we’re like crying for some help with space.
“Unfortunately, this is the only space that we have been allocated. All our coaches and parents have to take everything home with them, which means if someone’s sick, they can’t bring it back,” Mr Moses said.
“We can’t have it in our facility, so we need a little bit more space to just put all our stuff at the moment.”
Mr Moses said as the club had been here since 2019, it would have been good if it had been consulted on how much space it needed before the upgrade.
City of Casey active communities manager Ali Neil said council officers consulted with tenant clubs and sought approvals before construction.
“The Lynbrook Falcons Sports Club was not a tenant during planning, so direct input wasn’t possible,” she said.
“Despite this, the facility provision of storage is in line with the Council Sports Facilities Framework.
“Council officers will continue to work with tenant clubs to assess their ongoing storage needs and work through potential solutions.”
The club also hopes to replace its flood-prone pitch with a synthetic surface.
Mr Moses recalled that the last time when they had big rains, the whole place was covered in water that reached half the height of his calf.
“As it rains, all the pitch turns into mud,” he said.
“You couldn’t use the ground. It was literally there were ducks in here swimming.
“This is technically unsafe because if you ever look at how uneven the surface is. Look how much sand’s missing underneath.
“It makes it really hard for us to even use the soccer pitch as much as we want to play soccer because we can’t. If you keep playing on this, you might get injured.”
According to the City of Casey, the pitch underwent extensive turf maintenance during the 2024-25 off-season and is now ready for club training and matches.
Council officers also provided additional space to support club growth and manage pitch use.
Ms Neil said the reserve, owned by Melbourne Water, was designed to hold water after heavy rain.
According to the Falcons, the poor accessibility between the soccer ground and the pavilion also needs fixing.
The path stops at the basketball court in front of the facility. The remaining is grass and gravel roads.
“If someone’s elderly or in a wheelchair, they actually can’t get to the ground. They’ve got to get someone to push them onto here,” Mr Moses said.
South Eastern Metropolitan MP Rachel Payne is backing the club’s pleas.
“I’ve heard from a constituent who helps around the club, making sure the club rooms and pitches are kept tidy, but despite their best efforts the facilities just aren’t fit for a growing club,” she said.
“The club has asked their local council to fund some upgrades, and thankfully the pitches will be fixed in the off-season however they still need more fencing, road repairs, lighting improvements and other facilities.”
In Parliament, Ms Payne called for state funding for the upgrades so the club can “continue to train the next generation of soccer stars for Australia”.
“There could be contenders for the Matildas or Socceroos learning how to play with the Falcons, but most importantly this club delivers fun and connection to the south east.
“That’s definitely worth investing in.”
