By Russell Bennett
Without umpires, there can be no footy. It really is that simple.
The men and women, boys and girls with the whistles are an integral part of Australia’s game and they take to the field each and every game day with a job to do.
Locally, the Gippsland Umpires Association has been officiating over local games for decades and on the weekend celebrated its 60th birthday.
The cake was cut at a special celebration at The Downtowner in Warragul on Saturday night, but the proverbial icing on that birthday celebration cake came a few hours earlier, in Poowong as a panel of umpires aged (almost) 60 and over presided over the senior Ellinbank and District clash between the hometown Magpies and Lang Lang’s Tigers.
While it wasn’t exactly the most watched clash between Tigers and Magpies on that particular afternoon – with around 90,000 flocking to the MCG to watch Richmond battle it out with Collingwood – it was one that carried a huge amount of significance.
The umpires who strode out of the sheds and onto the ground, past a celebratory 60 marked just outside the boundary by the Poowong volunteers as a mark of respect, each had their own story to tell.
All told, as a collective group they had a staggering 560 years of experience to their names – and that’s including the young umpire who accompanied them, teenager Riley Fiel.
Just let that sink in for a minute – remembering that they’re all still willing to go the extra mile to help Gippsland footy.
None of them has to be there each Saturday, but they all feel a duty to the game.
It’s an incredibly impressive attitude to the sport, one which would ideally rub off on the younger generations.
As the group ages, it becomes even more clear just how badly needed younger reinforcements really are – whether they be school-aged umpires looking to earn some extra money, former players fresh out of the game, or fans or parents looking to do their bit.
Saturday’s panel for Poowong’s clash with Lang Lang included John Brookes, Geoff Legge, Bruce Pratt, Trevor Hobson, Peter Heywood, Merv Pentland, Jeff Bell, Tom Morrison and Bill Ross – in addition to youngster, Fiel.
The group includes three 59-year-olds, four in their early-60s, and another in his mid to late 70s.
Tom started umpiring in 1973. He’s since umpired 13 grand finals, including four in the seniors.
He says he retired in 1993 “to grow up” with his son, Chris.
In 2005, Tom was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes and when Chris decided he wanted to become a field umpire in 2006, he undertook a training program to try and beat the disease.
That same year, after 12 years out of football, he umpired the senior EDFL grand final.
Tom said he’d recommend his umpiring experience to any father or mother, adding: “You only get one chance. Do it – don’t dream it.”
Throughout his journey, he said the best players he’s umpired were Gary Ablett senior, and Peter Lieshout.
Trevor Hobson joined the GUA in 1989 and served on the committee from 1992 to 1994. A life member, he served as GUA advisor from 1997 to 1999 and umpired the 2002 West Gippsland Football League grand final.
Bill Ross started umpiring in 1979 with the YCW Umpires Association and spent eight years there until it disbanded.
He joined the GUA in 1994 and retired in 2017 after 38 years with the whistle – having umpired, by his own estimation, “about 1000 games of football”. He received his GUA life membership in 2011.
Bruce Pratt, 59, played 415 games with Ellinbank from 1969 to 2014.
He started his umpiring journey in 1998, and umpired his 400th match across all grades – either in the field, or goals – on grand final day, 2017.
He was awarded his GUA life membership last year, and among his highlights were umpiring the 2011 EDFL grand final, and 2010 Gippsland League preliminary final – both at senior level.
But over his footy journey, it’d be hard to top the last game he played at the age of 54 – running out for the Bankers alongside his son Michael just four days before he donated the then 21-year-old the kidney he needed to survive.
Jeff Bell started as a field umpire on the West Gippsland junior umpires panel in 1978 – one of six umpires under the control of Bob Utber.
Mid-season he was invited to join the senior panel as a boundary umpire and accepted the invitation – field umpiring in the under-16s in the morning, and working as a senior boundary umpire in the afternoon.
He started as a senior field umpire in 1979, and his first game was between Longwarry and Bunyip at Longwarry.
He umpired as a field umpire for 11 years, completing approximately 200 games before leaving umpiring and becoming heavily involved in field archery, including representing Australia on 11 occasions both as an individual archer and as a member of the Australian Champion of Nations team.
Over the journey he acted as a grand final field umpire in games in West Gippsland, Ellinbank, the Bass Valley and the Alberton leagues. He also served as an interleague umpire at the Yallourn Football Ground before it became part of the open cut mine.
He re-started his umpiring career, as a goal umpire, in July 2017. Since then he has umpired 30 games, including three finals – one in each of the Ellinbank, West Gippsland, and Gippsland Leagues. Jeff’s most recent highlight was goal umpiring four games at Yinnar at the Evans Petroleum Cup only a few weeks ago.
John Brookes started umpiring under the GUA in 2008 after being heavily-involved in the playing, coaching, and administration sides of the game right across Gippsland.
“I strongly believe it’s a responsibility of all former players to put something back into the game they have enjoyed as players, and if everyone gave just one year of umpiring then all games could be covered,” he said.
And then there’s Merv Pentland – a 60-year-old who has umpired 840 games, including more than 500 with Ellinbank as a club umpire.
They were all recognised on Saturday night as the GUA celebrated its own 60th birthday.
The packed function room was full of people heavily involved in both the association’s past and present.
And, together, they’re all looking at the future.
“If we’re not getting the numbers into umpiring, the kids won’t have football to play,” said Bruce, who headed up the GUA recruitment for a number of years.
“If there’s nobody umpiring, there’ll be a demise (in the game) and they’ll go to other sports.
“The best thing I’ve seen is going into schools and telling kids about umpiring, and some of those have gone on to win the golden whistle (the GUA’s prestigious award).
“A lot of the older umpires would continue to do it, even if there was no money involved, because they want to pass on their knowledge to the younger generation.
“Some of those who I umpired with on Saturday were there in the GUA in my first year.
“Hobbo (Hobson) and Boots (Heywood) were my peers, and now I’m out there with them.
“You get your life membership, which is a personal achievement, but today was icing on the cake (of the GUA’s birthday) – celebrating what people have given back to the game.”
Peter Heywood started his umpiring journey in 1985. He was involved in umpiring in the city early in his career when they were sent out in a taxi to the country leagues, dropping off an umpire at each ground along the way. This was in the era of just the one field umpire.
Twice awarded the ‘Golden Whistle’, and a former senior grand final field umpire, Heywood has been president of the GUA’s social club committee over recent years and is also on the current general committee.
Geoff Legge has been with the GUA for more than a decade and in that time has served as treasurer for the same period of time. Remarkably, he has officiated as a goal, boundary, and field umpire all on the same day. He has umpired in junior football in the Dandenong area for a number of years, and also helps out with the girls and women’s competitions when they’re scheduled to play locally.
The GUA is an incorporated organisation that provides umpires for competitions throughout West Gippsland. Based out of Bellbird Park in Drouin, what is now the GUA evolved from the former West Gippsland Umpires Association.
Currently, it has around 120 members, who predominantly live in Warragul, Drouin, Pakenham and the surrounding areas.
GUA umpires currently officiate in Ellinbank and District, Gippsland League, Warragul and District Juniors, West Gippsland, and AFL Gippsland Youth Girls competitions.
Several members have achieved VFL selection over the years, and four are currently listed.
Another two – Matt Stevic and Chris Roberts – are on the AFL senior list, while Gavin Dore retired after a distinguished AFL career.
