Emergency field umpire, Chris Donlon made history on Friday night when he appeared on the ground during the third quarter, wearing a puffy jacket and a beanie, and blew his whistle to award a free kick against Joel Selwood for high contact on his opponent.
No matter which way you look at it the AFL has a new look umpires finals panel in 2018. There are seven debutants across the disciplines, including three new emergency goal umpires.
AFLUA life member William (Bill) McLennan passed away peacefully on August 24, aged 84.
Former AFL field umpire and current SANFL Umpires Manager, Shane Harris will head an all star cast of umpires who will take charge of the 2018 E J Whitten match to be played at the Adelaide Oval on Friday August 31.
Some fifty young Down Syndrome participants and their siblings got the thrill of a lifetime when they got to have a “kick on the G” prior to the Melbourne v GWS match on Sunday. The AFL, MCC and Apricot Consulting got on the front foot to organise the third annual grid game. Chris Donlon drove the agenda, umpire’s boss, Grant Williams, like his predecessors, Peter Schwab, Luke Ball and Wayne Campbell umpired one match, while the son of Jack McBurney, Oscar umpired the other. Melbourne players made a surprise visit to the games and brought them to a premature halt with eager kids wanting photographs and a kick to kick with the AFL stars.
Congratulations to Jason on officiating in his 100thAFL match (Adelaide v North Melbourne) at Adelaide Oval last weekend.
Field umpires, Justin Schmitt and Troy Pannell stood in front of their Melbourne colleagues before training on Thursday night and announced their retirements from AFL Football at the end of the season. Scott Jeffery spoke of Justin’s contribution to umpiring and Simon Meredith spoke of Troy’s legacy. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house – everyone rolled around the coaching room crying with laughter. It’s no laughing matter however, with the group losing over 500 games of experience.