Congratulations to retired boundary umpire Darren Wilson (AFLUA Heritage No. 431), who was recently inducted into the West End SA Football Hall of Fame honour roll.
Running the boundary, Darren umpired 404 AFL matches. He officiated in 48 AFL Finals matches, including 12 consecutive AFL Grand Finals (between 1998 and 2009). Darren received the All-Australian Boundary Umpires’ accolade in 2007.
He umpired in the 1992, 1993 and 1997 SANFL Grand Finals, and worked with the SANFL as an Umpiring Development officer between 1998 and 2003.
Darren has been involved as an elite Boundary Umpires’ coach for many years, tutoring both AFL and AFLW umpires.
For his significant contributions to and achievements in AFL football and umpiring, Darren was made an AFLUA Life Member in 2006, and became the first boundary umpire to be awarded an AFL Life Membership in 2021.
For more information on the West End SA Football Hall of Fame inductee list, please visit the SANFL website – https://sanfl.com.au/league/news/2022-west-end-hall-of-fame-inductees/
Images credit – AFLUA archives / SANFL