At the end of every season there is reason to celebrate many wonderful milestones, newly appointed finals umpires and umpires who step up to do grand finals. We should never lose sight of those whose careers come to an end. Four such careers have ended with the...
In this day and age of statistics and on the eve of another finals series it might be studious to look at what history tells us about umpire selection and finals. The oft used expression attributed to British Prime Minister, Benjamin Disraeli, “Lies, damn lies...
Give a young girl or boy the opportunity to have a kick on the MCG and they will gravitate to it like bees to a honeypot. Add a few umpires who are after all, frustrated footballers, an ex AFL player as the umpire and 22 Down Syndrome kids and their siblings and you...
Having being told not to continue playing football at Mentone Grammar due to continuing shoulder problems, Courtney Lai turned his mind to waving the white flags and enjoyed it so much, that after a stint at the Southern Football League, he was promoted to the VFL and...
Ask Gerard what his best trait is and he fires back his answer with no fuss, “My consistency. I have umpired 22 games every year without failure. I was never injured and I am always putting my hand up for selection.” That fact just cannot be disputed. ...
