Ron Bailey, has managed our X umpires group for the past 14 years and still has a smile on his face! At our last X-umpires luncheon at Caulfield Ron was presented with his Life Time Achievement Award by CEO, Peter Howe on behalf of the association, and he was really smiling.
Spare a thought for the players who were traded and those who weren’t over the past 10 days or so of the trade period. Some players held their own fate in their hands, others had to sit and wait until the trading was over to see if they would be offered a contract for 2020. Many do, but for others their dream of playing AFL footy may well be over unless they are thrown a life-line in the upcoming draft.
The three All Australian Umpires were announced at the AFLUA grand final cocktail party in Southbank on Saturday night.
AFL Umpires coach, Hayden Kennedy joined the Bay 93.9 radio team on Wednesday morning to talk about grand final week for the umpires.
The AFL announced the umpiring panel for the 2019 AFL Grand Final between Richmond and the GWS GIANTS, to be played at the MCG this Saturday, September 28.
Former AFL goal umpire and AFLUA Historian David Flegg was presented with an Australian Medal for his services to umpiring by the Hon. Linda Dessau AC, Governor of Victoria at Government House on Friday.
Amazingly, this weekend will be the first time since 2011 that both preliminary finals will be played at the MCG. In the last 7 years one has been at the MCG with the other being played in Sydney, Adelaide or Perth. Indeed in 2015 both preliminary finals were played in Perth.