Congratulations to boundary umpires Will Morris and Blake Anderson, who stepped up as replacements in Round 8 (Season 2023) to make their AFL debuts.
Will (Heritage Number 589) ran the boundary at Carrara Stadium on Saturday, 6 May 2023, as Gold Coast and Melbourne battled for the premiership points. Blake (Heritage Number 590) umpired at the North Melbourne v. St. Kilda match at Marvel Stadium the next day.
Will and Blake have been involved in the AFLW set-up in recent years, with 22 and 50 AFLW matches to their names, respectively.
They both officiated in the AFLW Season 7 (2022) Grand Final showdown at the Brighton Homes Arena (Springfield, QLD) as Brisbane Lions and Melbourne contested for the title. Following his Season 7 Grand Final appearance, Blake also became the first AFLW umpire to reach the 50 AFLW matches milestone since the inception of the competition.
Well done, Will and Blake. We wish you the best for the season ahead.