AFL Scraps Bounce In 2026

Oct 2, 2025 | Blog, News

The AFL has announced that the centre bounce will be removed from the game in the 2026 season. An official AFL media release cited the difficulty to execute, physical strain placed on umpires, reduction of game length, and restriction of umpire pathways as reasons...

Vale Wally Hopkins

Sep 25, 2025 | Member News

The association lost its oldest living life member (aged 101) with the passing of Wal Hopkins on 19 September 2025. Wal was the sixth known association member to reach the century mark and made a significant contribution to both umpiring and his community. Born Walter...

2025 AFL Grand Final Umpiring Panel

Sep 25, 2025 | News

The AFL has released the umpiring panel for the 2025 Grand Final between Geelong Cats and the Brisbane Lions. Field umpires Andrew Stephens, Hayden Meyer, Simon Meredith and Jacob Mollison will take charge in the middle of the ground, with Nick Foot in reserve....

Burrows Breaks Games Record

Sep 20, 2025 | News

This weekend Ian Burrows will cement his place among the greatest-ever servants to the game of Australian Rules Football. When he takes the field for the 439th time on Saturday to officiate in the Collingwood vs Brisbane preliminary final, he will break the record for...

Boundary Brilliance – History Making Debutants

Sep 11, 2025 | Blog

Amongst the jostling for ladder positions, player retirement announcements, and early trade speculation, the final round of the AFL season saw a historic umpiring milestone achieved. After 128 years of Aussie rules football without a female boundary umpire, the AFL...