The final list announcements were made in the lead up to the AFLW grand final last week. VFL umpire and contracted Rookie field umpire, Andrew Heffernan was offered the 34th and last spot on the list as a contracted field umpire for 2019.
AFL field umpire, Ray Chamberlain received one of the most prestigious accolades the AFL bestows, life membership at the 2019 season launch at the Melbourne Town Hall in March.
Field umpire Brett Rosebury becomes the 5th field umpire, and 6th umpire all time, to reach the 400-game milestone in VFL/AFL history. Brett who started his career in Perth, because in his own words, he thought “he could do a better job umpiring than those who officiated in his under-age games,” has quietly moved to become one of the most consistent umpires in the modern era. With eight AFL grand finals and 44 finals, he is one of the dominant decision makers of the past 10 years. Brett also gives back to the group as a leader having been part of the field umpires leadership group for a number of years and who has taken up the position of AFLUA President in 2019.
Our next ‘Where are they Now’ is an umpire who officiated in over 441 Victorian Country Football League games – William John Yendle (Bill).
The first of the two 2019 AFL grand finals will be played in Adelaide this weekend between Adelaide and Carlton. Adelaide have been the flag favourites all season and Carlton has come from the clouds. The heated debate about conferences was parked on the weekend when Carlton beat favourites Geelong to steal a march into the GF.
Low scores, a couple of blowouts and a heap of warm and humid weather across the country didn’t stop AFL football from hitting our television screens for round one, across four days last week.
Umpires have a thankless task and are often the subject of criticism, but what goes unseen is the work they do to improve.
The phone will often ring in our office and among the many varied requests we get from community umpires include, “Where can I purchase goal flags?”
The merits of a conference system can be argued until you are blue in the face. What is indisputable is that two cut throat preliminary finals will be played this weekend that will determine the Grand Finalists for AFLW 3.