Three debutants all said the same thing when asked to describe their first games, “awesome.”
Pat Cran added, “I stood on the corner of the square at the opening bounce and my heart was in sync with the countdown clock, it felt like it was beating out of my chest.” Lachlan Rayner said, “it took me half a game to slow down and relax. I even dropped my first ball return. I haven’t done that for years.” Josh Garrett, at Subiaco had a 43 goal game, “my recovery run on Monday was the longest and slowest I’ve ever done. I had a good night at training last night so I am back to full strength. I couldn’t get over the crowd, and the noise they made was amazing.”
Each of the boys will be presented with their Heritage certificates this week but for the record they become the 563, 564 and 565th boundary umpires to officiate in VFL/AFL football.
Boundary umpire Chris Bull became the 129th boundary umpire to officiate in 100 VFL/ AFL games when he stepped out in the Pt.Adelaide v St. Kilda match on Sunday. That was a great day for Chris because in 2009 he thought his AFL ambitions were over. (Read Chris’ story on our website)
Like all teams, some individuals don’t make it to the start line for reasons beyond their control. Spare a thought for boundary umpire, Chris Roberts who missed most of the 2015 season with a broken foot, only to be struck down on the eve of round one with appendicitis. He is still in Monash hospital recovering. We wish Chris all the best. Matt Konetschka flew in from Adelaide to fill Chris’ appointment.
Dean Margetts finally arrived back in Perth 14 days after his last game. Some more medical tests and then a rehab process will hopefully seen Dean back on the field in the middle of the year. Dean did receive some good news when he arrived home, a letter from the AFL indicating that he qualified for AFL life membership with a total of 300 games certainly lifted his spirits.