Three hundred and nineteen game veteran, Mark Canning has decided to hand up his flags after 21 years on the AFL list. The announcement was made at the umpires cocktail party on Saturday night.
Mark, in his usual quiet style thanked everyone for their support over many years and indicated that the time must come for all to retire and that his time had come. He was indeed grateful for spending more than half of his life on the list of goal umpires and had not yet decided what to do with all of his free time.
The AFL presented Mark and his partner Linda with some flowers and a small token of their appreciation for his career. The AFLUA will make their presentation to Mark at the awards afternoon in November.
Boundary umpire Chris Morrison, a veteran of 200 games has called it quits also. Chris who has been on the AFL panel for 11 years pulled a calf muscle during his 200th game in round 22 and decided to hang up his boots. He was very keen to reach the 200 game milestone and went injury free for the whole season until his milestone game.
Look for more detailed articles on both careers in the coming weeks.
Pictured: Retirees, Mark Canning and Chris Morrison