I have been extremely lucky in my time in VFL/AFL football to witness first hand the great umpires in the modern era. Make no mistake about it the dedication and perseverance required to be successful as an umpire is no less challenging than that of a player. While you don’t have the physical challenges of the continual battering player’s take you do have the mental challenges to get it right in a very demanding sport.
Ben Macdonald has had a whirlwind couple of weeks. Not only did he umpire his 50thAFL game, he was one of four boundary umpires selected to umpire in China.
Peter’s promotion to the AFL Boundary Squad was quite different to many others, however he has settled in nicely and recently officiated his 50thAFL game between Brisbane and Hawthorn at the Gabba on Saturday 1 June.
Michael started boundary umpiring in Canberra in 2004 where he umpired his first final in 2005 and his first grand final in 2006. He then umpired the AFL Canberra Premier Division Grand Final and the Under 16 National Championships in 2007. Michael’s 2008/09 seasons were cut short due to injury/illnesses.
Big crowd, traditional rivals, last quarter come back, MCG….what more could you ask in setting the scene for your 100thAFL game?
“Pretty amazing” is how Matt Konetschka described his AFL journey to date, before taking the field for his 150thAFL game at the Adelaide v Gold Coast Suns game on Sunday 21 April 2019.
Who umpires an AFL match on a Saturday afternoon at the MCG then participates in the challenging Great Train Race on Sunday morning!
‘Drew’ is simply ‘Drew’ was how colleague and close friend Chris Gordon responded when asked to describe Drew Kowalski. ‘Drew is literally just Drew with everybody!’
As Craig so eloquently put it, his journey with the AFL has been a pretty wild one with some amazing highs and significant lows. From making the list after 26 state league games, injuries, overseas study trips, delisting, returning to the AFL list, finals panel selection, a lot has happened in the last six years. The one thing that remains with every one of Craig’s 100 games is the thrill of living out the dream of umpiring AFL football.