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.
This weekend is a big one for Angus McKenzie-Wills who not only will be officiating his 50thAFL game on Sunday but will be keeping a close eye on the results from the NSW election, wondering if he’ll have a job at the end of it.
Most of us are fairly grumpy when starting work on a Monday morning but spare a thought for Matt Jenkinson who was waiting for his phone to ring for two reasons (1) was he appointed to the 2018 finals panel or (2) was his wife going into labour with their second child. Hardly a productive morning could be expected.
Congratulations to Jason on officiating in his 100thAFL match (Adelaide v North Melbourne) at Adelaide Oval last weekend.