Former NFL/DVFL umpire Matthew Nicholls (pictured far right) has been named as one of three field umpires to officiate in the 2013 AFL Grand Final between Hawthorn and Fremantle this Saturday.
It will be Nicholls’ Grand Final debut, after he was last year named as the emergency field umpire in the 2012 AFL Grand Final – where Sydney defeated Hawthorn by 10 points.
Also named the 2013 All-Australian Umpire, Nicholls said he was thrilled when told of his selection earlier this week.
"I’m just exceedingly excited to go out there on the weekend, and it’s just going to be a fantastic experience," Nicholls said.
Nicholls will officiate alongside Brett Rosebury and Simon Meredith.
Umpires boss Jeff Gieschen said all three field umpires were deserving of their selection.
"We’ve got great confidence in them; we believe in our process of appointment and quite clearly our best three umpires have got through to the Grand Final,” Gieschen told AFL.com.au.
"The thing that we ask from the umpires, particularly at the start of the game – when the players are up and about and the game is frenetic – [is] to be at their most composed and calmest.”
Nicholls has now officiated in 202 AFL matches, including nine finals.
Nicholls began umpiring in the Diamond Valley Football League in 1992.
He moved to the VFL in 1999 where he umpired the 2002 Grand Final between Geelong and Port Melbourne before stepping up to the AFL.
He was a special guest at the NFL’s season launch last year, where he spoke of his time as an emerging umpire in the former DVFL.
“It absolutely was a great initiation for the AFL,” Nicholls said.
“People often ask and I tell them I learned the hard way coming through. I was a 16-year-old kid umpiring A-Grade Division 1 footy in the Diamond Valley. You had to know what you’re doing out there.”
The NFL congratulates Matthew on his selection and wishes him the best of luck on Saturday.
