High scoring, fast paced footy was the main attraction on the weekend just passed. Who said there was a problem with AFL football? To take a leaf from a current coaches handbook, “let the cobblers cobble and the players play.”
Certainly the field umpires would’ve felt the fast pace of the game coming off the back of two weeks of the four umpire system to be confronted with 3 matches where both teams scored more than 100 points, another game with one team over 100 points and 4 more games where the winning team scored in the 90’s.
Fog continued to cause chaos for our airlines over the weekend. Our umpires in the GCS v Collingwood game were scheduled to fly on Friday evening. Fog in Brisbane and the Gold Coast had caused significant delays all day ending in the cancellation of the flight after a two hour delay. Enter the added problem of school holidays that saw Leigh Haussen get the last seat on a Gold Coast plane at 9am on Saturday morning, leaving Sam Hay and Matt Nicholls to catch a business class flight to Brisbane at 7.30am Saturday morning and a car then to the Gold Coast. It brought back memories of airline strikes in the 1990’s when umpires and teams were catching private jets around the country to get to games.
It was great to see veteran field umpire, Scott Jeffery return to senior football this week after a run of leg injuries. Let’s hope we see him back in the AFL soon. On the other hand Shaun Ryan was missing for a second week with a strained calf muscle.
Our boundary umpires continue to defy the odds with very few injuries this season. A look back to this time 12 and 24 months ago boundary umpires having to double up and run while not fully fit to cover all selection places.
Our Fiona McBurney Match Day participant this week was Henrietta Graham. I would’ve loved to be a spy on the wall when our chaperone, Stephen McBurney was seated next to retired Melbourne board member, Angus Graham as the game went down to the wire?