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.
Matt Stevic – 350 AFL games, Shaun Ryan – 300 AFL games, Tristan Symes – 150 AFL games and Chelsea Roffey floored by Oscar McDonald in the Melbourne v Sydney clash. It doesn’t get bigger than this.
The Queensland football scene has changed significantly since Tristan’s arrival to AFL football. He was first appointed to the AFL panel in 2007. At first, it was tough going to get a game with four goal umpires based in Queensland and Brisbane Lions the only AFL team in town. In his first year, Tristan only umpired 4 AFL games.
My next “where are they now” is an umpire who officiated in close to 500 games during his career.