It’s been revealed that AFL umpires haven’t done a skills session together in “several years” in a season the standard of officiating has become a key talking point.
Herald Sun journalist Sam Landsberger on Fox Footy’s Midweek Tackle expanded on his story amid several controversial umpiring calls in 2024 he described as “the biggest on-field crisis” in the game.
The stunning revelation is a massive contrast to state league umpires, who train together twice a week.
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“They’ve had more than 10 games decided by contentious decisions, many of which the AFL admitted were wrong,” Landsberger said on Midweek Tackle.
“The AFL umpires haven’t completed a skills session together in several years.
“When some AFL umpires have been sent out to community leagues in recent weeks and months and been asked to run skill sessions, it has dawned on them they don’t know what to do because they no longer do that at the elite level.
“They’re not (practising decision making), they’re getting their video feedback and doing their own individualised running, but not training together as a group or doing skills sessions at all.”
AFL umpires attend Marvel Stadium on Tuesdays for coaching feedback and video edits from the AFL Review Centre plus umpire analysis manager Tim Neville.
However Landsberger’s report states the closest umpires have gotten to doing a proper skills session is when they umpire at club training sessions — of which some officials can’t attend due to having full-time jobs.
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“Can you imagine if fans knew we didn’t practice skills?” one umpiring source said, per the Herald Sun.
“Or can you imagine if Collingwood went years without (completing) a skills session?”
It was also revealed field umpire Alex Whetton, who paid a controversial dissent free kick against Fremantle’s Jordan Clark late in the club’s Gather Round loss to Carlton, was subsequently dropped to the VFL despite the AFL at the time ticking off the call.
“Laura Kane at the time told us the dissent free kick paid against Jordan Clark was correct … (Whetton) spent three weeks in the VFL on the back of that despite the AFL telling us at the time it was the right decision,” Landsberger added.
Landsberger also reports umpires were told is was a mistake not to award Bailey Scott a 50m penalty late in North Melbourne’s one-point loss to Collingwood in Round 14, while concerns over a lack of emerging umpiring talent was a chief reason for the addition of a fourth field umpire last year.
As such, the league reportedly wants veteran whistleblowers Matt Stevic, Simon Meredith, Matt Nicholls, Ray Chamberlain, Chris Donlon and Brett Rosebury — all aged in their mid to late 20s — to continue umpiring for as long as possible.
Source Agencies
