Jack Edwards became the 433rd field umpire to debut in a VFL/AFL game. Jack was in charge of the Melbourne v Hawthorn at the MCG on Saturday. Jack has come through the VFL ranks as a rising star. He umpired the TAC Cup grand final in 2012, the VFL development league grand final in 2013 and the VFL senior grand final in 2014 before being offered an AFL contract this season.
Please click here to listen to the audio from 3aw with AFL Field Umpire, Jordan Bannister.
AFL umpire Dean Margetts has urged football clubs throughout Australia to follow Hawthorn’s lead in a bid to build stronger relationships with whistleblowers.
Cameron Ward umpired just four AFL games in his first two seasons as a listed boundary umpire. To say that forged a level of determination and commitment is an understatement. What it also created was a man with patience and a very good life balance.
It took Frank 18 years of dedicated service to AFL umpiring to be awarded an honorary life membership and it took the association another five months to track him down and find a suitable place to present it to him.
Curtis Deboy debuted as the 432nd field umpire to officiate in VFL/AFL football. Curtis had charge of the Western Bulldogs v Adelaide game at Etihad Stadium. However, it was Curtis’ second recorded match. So why the discrepancy? Curtis was emergency in 2014 during a game in Adelaide when Chris Donlon came off for 5 minutes to be treated by a doctor after being contacted by players. While he records a game stat, he is not given a heritage number unless he was appointed to the game as a listed umpire.
AFL Umpire Rob O’Gorman will mentor two promising Southern Football Netball League Umpires in 2015 through the AFL Victoria’s Mates Program.
It’s always good to sit back and reflect on a milestone once achieved, especially one that you were never supposed to make. So it is true for Brett Dalgleish, one of the infamous “Dalgleish brothers inc.” who have followed in each others footsteps since joining the AFL umpires panel in 2010. They umpired together on the weekend.