Twenty-two year old Liam Rowe has completed his first AFL trial as a field umpire and performed well enough to take a rookie spot on the 2014 panel. He joins Brent Pawley who has been rookied for the second year in a row, still searching for that elusive place on the full panel.
Liam, who is a qualified investment banker, has some strong ambitions to make the panel after umpiring the 2013 Eastern Conference NEAFL Grand Final and following it up with the cross conference grand final a week later. When asked about his trail Liam smiled and said, “I was only known as that young guy from Sydney when the trial started but I think they may have changed their minds by the end.”
Liam has followed the pathway program through the juniors and would be the first field umpire from Sydney to make the panel for well over a decade. We have to go back to the names of Anton Lewis and Michael Forbes who both umpired AFL football coming through the Sydney pathway in the 1990’s.
Liam is being mentored by AFL grand final umpire Matt Stevic as part of and AFL/NSWACT umpires association scholarship program. Liam is committed to his skill and management development as part of his umpiring program. Never without a smile on his face, Liam is enjoying his ride as the young guy from Sydney.
