The AFL Umpires’ Association would like to congratulate life member John Marrapodi, and alumni Brendan Schwab and Professor Jeffery Borland on their recognition in the Australia Day honours.
The Australia Day honours acknowledge Australians who have demonstrated outstanding service or exceptional achievement in their respective fields.
John Marrapodi was awarded the Order of Australia Medal for his service to Australian football as an umpire, including as a senior umpire and coach with the WAFL for three decades.
John has been involved in Australian football since he was a boy, playing for the Maylands Junior Football Club and East Perth Junior Football Club. However, it was in umpiring rather than playing where he would make a lasting impact.
After years as umpires’ coach and umpire for the East Perth Junior Football Council, in 1992 he joined the WAFL as a goal umpire.
Marrapodi during his time coaching at the AFL. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Media)
Seven years later, in 1999, John was elevated to the AFL list (heritage number 287) and became a member of the AFLUA. Between 1999 and 2003, he umpired 29 AFL matches.
On retirement from WAFL goal umpiring duties in 2004, having officiated in 175 matches, John would make a return to the AFL, but this time as a coach.
From 2005 to 2021, John served as the AFL’s goal umpire coach in Perth. During this time he also took up a goal umpire coaching position at the WAFL between 2015 and 2017; a job he returned to in 2021 and continues to this day.
John’s impact at the WAFLUA can’t be overstated. A former vice-president, he was awarded life membership in 2001, inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2008, and elevated to Legend status in 2023.
Having become an associate member of the AFLUA in 2019, in 2023 John qualified for AFLUA life membership, recognising his total of 10 years of membership of the organisation.
Outside of umpiring, John has had a distinguished career with the WA Department of Education. He was awarded a Public Service Medal last year for his “tireless efforts in enhancing the safety of our schools, staff, and students across Western Australia” in his role as the Manager of Emergency and Security Management.
As the current high performance coach for the WAFL goal umpires and the AFLW goal umpires coach in WA, John’s commitment to umpiring now spans an incredible 24 years of continuous service.
Brendan Schwab was made a member of the Order of Australia (AM) for “significant service to professional sport as a lawyer, and as an advocate for athletes’ rights.”
While well known as a sports administrator and former chief executive officer of the Richmond, Melbourne, and Fremantle football clubs, less well known is that Schwab was a VFLUA member from 1988-89 as a field umpire. Later from 1996-98 he acted for the AFLUA during collective bargaining agreement negotiations, and served as legal advisor in 1999.
Professor Jefferey Borland was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (OAM) for his “distinguished service to business as a labour market economist, to tertiary education, to microeconomic research, and to public policy development.”
Borland was a VFL Reserve Grade Umpires’ Association member in 1980-82 before joining the VFL cadet squad, where he umpired for 2 years. He officiated 9 VFL under 19 and 19 Victorian Country Football League matches.
The AFLUA congratulates all recipients on their exemplary achievements and contributions.
John Marrapodi
AFLUA member Goal 1999-2003. Associate member 2019-2023.
Life member 2023
29 AFL matches
Western Australian Football League
- Goal Umpire High Performance Coach, 2015-2017, and since 2025.
- Goal Umpire, since 1992.
Western Australian National Football League Umpires Association
- Former Vice-President.
- Life Member, 2001.
- Inductee, Hall of Fame, 2008.
- Legend, 2023.
Football – Other
- AFL Goal Umpire Coach, Perth, 2005-2021.
- Life Member, Australian Football League Umpires Association, 2023.
- Umpires Coach and Umpire, East Perth Junior Football Council, c1970s, and 1983-1991.
Western Australian Department of Education
- Manager, Security and Emergency Management, Infrastructure Operations Team, current.
Awards and Recognition include:
- Public Service Medal, 2025.
- Dedicated and Outstanding Contribution to Umpiring Plaque, 2014.
- Honour Certificate, East Perth Football Club.