South Warrnambool mentor Mat Battistello said the club requested its away clash against Warrnambool at Deakin University's The Pond on Saturday be moved due to its muddy condition.

League president Garry Perrett said it was deemed fit for play after inspecting the venue on Thursday afternoon.

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Warrnambool is using The Pond as its temporary home base in 2021 as Reid Oval, its spiritual home, undergoes a multi-million dollar upgrade.

The Blues have shifted training in recent weeks in order to give The Pond time to recover from rain.

Battistello said he was disappointed the league decided against moving the arch rival's round 10 fixture.

"I have walked the ground and I just think it's an absolute disgrace," he told The Standard.

"We're supposed to be a division one competition and we're playing on a district league ground which is called The Pond for a reason.

"We would have loved to have transferred the game somewhere else, just for the quality of football.

"I would have thought Warrnambool would as well. We would have been happy to go to Mortlake or South Rovers, wherever they saw fit, but that ground (Deakin) is not fit for HFL football and I can't say we're a division one competition when we play on sub-par conditions.

"I was involved in Ballarat and we had a shocking oval and any opportunity we could move away from our own oval at Lake Wendouree we moved to the Eastern Oval to play on a better surface.

"It was very similar to what they call The Pond and any opportunity we could move a home game to play on a better surface we did for the quality of our game and the players."

Perrett said moving grounds was difficult.

"We can't just go swapping venues because it would create a precedent in years to come if someone has a muddy ground and they don't want to play on it," he told The Standard.

"In years gone past I have seen grounds in the Hampden league in a worse state than this.

"It's a winter sport and if you're worried about injuries, I'd prefer to play on that than a rock-hard ground."

Battistello said South Warrnambool flagged its concerns with the league last Friday.

He also said the Roosters would have played the game at their home base, Friendly Societies' Park, and given the Blues the canteen, bar and gate takings.

"It is disappointing for us. It is nothing against Warrnambool footy club, it's just from a Hampden league perspective I don't understand why we wouldn't want to play a division one competition on the best available ovals we've got," he said.

Perrett said favourable weather conditions this week - there's been no rain - meant The Pond had time to dry out.

"I was at the ground at 5.30pm Thursday afternoon and walked over the whole ground," he said.

"There are definitely a couple of wet patches on the ground, especially up the end where the train station is but on the whole 70 per cent of the ground is quite good.

"I also walked on it Tuesday and at that stage it didn't look good."

Perrett conceded future matches might have to be shifted if the region received torrential downpours.

"If we get a lot of rain within the next fortnight we may have to shift the next game but we'll have to wait and see but as far as this game goes, it will be played," he said.

Warrnambool president Ken Radley said conditions had helped the oval's recovery.

"A week ago I would've said we couldn't play on it and certainly we've had lots of dialogue between the Hampden league, AFL Western District, the city council and South Warrnambool," he told The Standard.

"We had a meeting yesterday at the city council and it was agreed the ground was in a fit state for play.

"All the grounds in Warrnambool and the south-west at the moment are heavy and The Pond was holding some water on the surface but that is draining away.

"The ground will be soft out there on the weekend but it's not unplayable."

Radley played for Deakin University at The Pond for 15 years during his playing days.

"I played games in extremely atrocious conditions," he said.

Radley said he was unsure if The Pond would be OK for play deeper into the season and there would be "ongoing discussions".

Warrnambool coach Ben Parkinson said the Blues, who did not want to play their home game at the Roosters' ground, had altered training bases in recent weeks.

He said the Blues were "rolling with the punches".

"Our training has been thrown into chaos this week. We trained at Dennington last night, I think we go to another District league ground next Wednesday night," Parkinson told The Standard.

"We have to find alternate arrangements on another night so we get two sessions in.

"It's been a difficult year and probably gotten harder with the state of the ground.

"It was always going to be hard away from the Reid but it's probably just gotten a little bit harder."

Parkinson said Warrnambool received a call from the league saying it had been "requested to look at the ground".

"It wasn't on our behalf," he said.

"I think the Hampden league committee walked the ground and it had dried since Tuesday and it's not meant to rain until Sunday. By the time Saturday comes around they don't think there will be an OH&S issue.

"They gave us the go ahead to play there this week. I would imagine by the time the seniors start, after the under 18s and reserves games, there won't be a helluva lot of grass left.

"It probably won't be much of a spectacle I would imagine but it is only mud. Both teams have to play on it."

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