For the players who take the field this Sunday in the Peter Jackson VFL Grand Final – it’s on occasion they will remember for the rest of their football career.
But the day is also a momentous one for another select group of athletes; the men in the middle charged with officiating the titanic battle.
This year, three first time grand final field umpires will take to the field at Etihad Stadium as the Box Hill Hawks and the Footscray Bulldogs go head-to-head for the ultimate glory.
The trio: Jack Edwards, Nick Brown and Brent Wallace have enjoyed breakout years in the VFL, with their consistency over the regular season and finals blockbusters impressing the VFL Umpire Coaching panel.
Brown’s appointment comes after returning to the competition after two years in the West Australian Football League.
Edwards’s climb through the ranks has seen him umpire the TAC Cup Grand Final and Development League Grand Final in the past two years, the perfect preparation for the intensity expected in this Sunday’s clash.
His improvement was also rewarded by being named the 2014 Field Umpire of the Year.
But arguably the most impressive story of the three is that of Brent Wallace, who is the son of former Hawthorn great and former AFL senior coach at the Western Bulldogs and Richmond - Terry Wallace.
The 2014 season is only Wallace’s third as an umpire after coming through the AFL’s Player to Umpire Pathway Program.
Cameron Nash, AFL Victoria’s Head Coach of Umpiring, said Wallace’s progress had been outstanding.
“Brent is a very coachable umpire, who is very receptive to feedback and immediately goes about trying to implement the advice he had received.”
“He’s a very level-headed umpire who is constantly improving and he thoroughly deserves his appointment.”
Through the Player to Umpire Pathway Program, Wallace receives extra guidance from former AFL umpire Scott McLaren and trains with the AFL Umpire Squad once a week.
“He, like the other two guys who have been appointed for the Grand Final, has a big future in umpiring.”
Nash said there would be four boundary umpires on Sunday, all of whom have been rewarded for strong seasons.
“With the speed and standard of VFL football we felt the grand final warranted having four boundary umpires to ensure the umpires where able to be in the correct positions and also throw the ball in quicker to keep the game flowing.”
VFL Grand Final Umpires
Field Umpire |
Jack Edwards (29) |
Field Umpire |
Nick Brown (3) |
Field Umpire |
Brent Wallace (21) |
Emg Field Umpire |
Shaun Gleeson (8) |
Boundary Umpire |
James Scully |
Boundary Umpire |
Brendan Elvey |
Boundary Umpire |
Jordan Andrews |
Boundary Umpire |
Jake Robertson |
Goal Umpire |
Matthew Dervan |
Goal Umpire |
Steven Piperno |
Emg Goal Umpire |
Simon Plumridge
|
TAC Cup Grand Final Umpires
Field Umpire |
Thomas Chrystie (30) |
Field Umpire |
Patrick Burns (10) |
Field Umpire |
Daniel Butcher (36) |
Emg Field Umpire |
Adam Havelberg (20) |
Boundary Umpire |
Lachlan Rayner |
Boundary Umpire |
Ben Macdonald |
Boundary Umpire |
Nick Laurence |
Goal Umpire |
Simon Plumridge |
Goal Umpire |
Sam Walsh |
Emg Goal Umpire |
Paul Trotter |
Last Modified on 18/09/2014 11:33