In what has been a terrific year in the football umpiring program, the NFNL recognise the many outstanding milestones reached by our football umpires in 2023.
Leading the way is Wayne Fyffe (500 games) as well as Victor Filipou and Brian Moore (400 games) who have given over 20 years of service in the umpiring fraternity.
The trio also play a role in umpiring junior football games and take on multiple mentor roles throughout the year.
We have also seen Glen Swafford (200 games) and Scott Gaunson (100 games) reach their respective milestones throughout the 2023 campaign, while in our senior women’s competition, Owen Davies, Craig Herman, and Brian Moore all reached the 100-game mark this season.
As well as those achievements, nine new female umpires from the Our Lady of Mercy College (OLMC) female umpire academy have officiated multiple senior and junior games in all three fields, highlighting the success of this year’s academy.
2023 has seen many umpires officiate at senior Division 1 level for the first time, and we congratulate the following umpires on this special accomplishment.
Field:
Michael Abbott
Grace Antoniou
Hamish Collis
James Kelly
Blake Leguier
Lachlan Shaw
Boundary:
Matt Barnett
Marc Botoulas
Harrison Brabender
Michael Chiller
Jack Commandeur
Jacob Glover
Jayden Tan
Jack Sparnenn
Goal:
Rohan Butler
Daryl Ellis
Dianne Herman
Lachlan Wood
The NFNL extends our gratitude to all the umpire coaches and support staff for their work in developing these umpires to officiate at the highest level in our league.
Other good news stories include 13-year-old Asher Roffey, flying the flag for young umpires by goal umpiring in under 19.5’s, reserves, and senior women’s games.
NFNL CEO Martin Stillman was thrilled to see so many umpires making their mark in 2023.
“Like players, it is terrific to see umpires achieving such significant milestones within our league. To have umpires commit to the NFNL for an extended period of time is fantastic for our competition,” he said.
“We should rightfully recognise these achievements and each individual should be extremely proud of their contribution to the NFNL.
“Pleasingly, it’s reassuring to see the next crop of umpires progress though to Division 1 ranks. Hopefully this inspires those that have recently become an umpire in our league to achieve similar accomplishments.”
The NFNL and NUA continue to break new ground in our commitment to umpiring and are very fortunate to have such amazing people dedicated to umpiring.
We thank every umpire at every level for their continued support and commitment to the football umpiring program in 2023.
