Dillon and Eleni are not two people who want to be in the spotlight, but when Dillon took the opportunity to propose to Eleni on Saturday after their first AFL game together, the media were all over it. Not much passes scrutiny in the centre of the MCG 30 minutes after a game and this certainly didn’t. Congratulations to both of you! For the record, the AFLUA didn’t ask for a photo shoot of them both after the game, but we were very happy to be complicit in Dillon’s organisation of the event.
Dean Margetts, our own version of Benjamin Button, clocked up his 450th AFL/WAFL game in the Sydney v Geelong match. What a stellar career and it doesn’t look like stopping anytime soon. For the record Dean has umpired 342 AFL matches and 108 WAFL senior games.
Jamie Broadbent our South Australian rookie had a Saturday he won’t forget. Jamie ran 15 kilometres in his SANFL senior game and found himself on the ground at the 12 minute mark of the second quarter of the Pt Adelaide v GWS game later that evening. When we chased Jamie up after the game he was still on cloud nine but was very worried about cramping up during a very close AFL game. Rumour has it he slept very soundly on Saturday night.
Dual Grand Final umpire, Doug Purss passed away last week after a fight with the beast, MND. Doug was a regular attendee at our monthly X-umpires’ luncheons in Mornington and Caulfield. He was also a regular at the Grand Final luncheon. Doug umpired 105 games including 7 finals and the 1987 and 1989 grand finals. Our umpires recognised Doug’s careers, wearing black arm bands in the Friday might game, Collingwood v Richmond.
Our umpires, also wore black armbands in the Sydney v Geelong match in recognition of the passing of goal umpire Alex Chisholm’s father, after a long battle with cancer. Our thoughts go out to Alex and his family.
This weeks FM MDE participant was Daniel Wilson in the WCE v North Melbourne match at Optus Stadium on Saturday. Daniel was a walking encyclopaedia of footy facts and looked right at home on the ground.