TWO former junior EDFL umpires have been selected amongst the trio of officiating field umpires for this Saturday’s AFLW Grand Final at the Adelaide Oval.
Both Michael Pell and Nathan Toner are preparing for the biggest game of their continuing umpiring careers.
Self-professed “footy junkie” Pell is enthusiastic by the opportunity that he has been presented with this weekend.
“Pretty excited, it’s going to be a big crowd at the Adelaide Oval, one of the great stadiums in Australia,” Pell said.
“Daresay it will be the biggest (crowd) I have umpired in front of. It will be very exciting.”
Impressed with the high standard of the AFLW this season, Pell is excited to be playing a role in the growing competition.
“The AFLW competition has come a long way this year, the standard has been really high, (the grand final) is clearly one of the showpiece events this weekend,” Pell said.
Having previously umpired in the 2019 AFLW decider, Nathan Toner plans to harness the experience gained from the outing to help him this weekend.
“You take a little out of having some experience doing the grand final before, you also back the fact you are with two guys who have had excellent seasons and will go out there and get the job done,” Toner said.
More importantly for Toner, being selected for the grand final gives him the privilege of “representing the entire (umpiring) group.”
“The best thing about it is having the privilege of representing the entire group who had exceptional seasons, going out there being able to represent everyone is an awesome experience,” he said.
Growing up playing footy in the EDFL both Pell and Toner turned to umpiring at a young age, not thinking about the careers they could forge through the experience.
Taking up umpiring when he was 13 as “a bit of pocket money and fitness”, Pell quickly realised he had the skillset and ability to take his umpiring to higher levels.
He credits his rise to former EDFL umpire and development manager, Rowan Sawers.
“I’ve always had a natural feel for the game, but it did take some time to pick up the little intricacies and ins and outs of umpiring,” he said.
“I couldn’t have done it without the support of Rowan down at the EDFL.”
Like Pell, Toner began umpiring at an early age during Under 12s.
“I played for Oak Park in the EDFL, I started umpiring quite young, it got to the point where I had to choose, I decided to continue down the umpiring path,” Toner said.
Seeing umpiring as a way to also continue staying involved in footy, Toner also lauds the experience for the enjoyment and great friendships he has been able to develop.
“Some of my best mates I’ve got now have come from my years of umpiring, I’m really glad I got involved,” Toner said.
Looking forward in 2021, both Pell and Toner hope to further develop their skills working with the main AFL umpire fraternity as members of the Rookie squad, giving themselves unique opportunity and insight if and when AFL umpiring opportunities arise.
“That’s my ultimate goal, to make the AFL list. I’ve just got to make sure that I am umpiring well consistently and continue to develop,” Pell said.
“While the timeline for it is outside of our control, we just have to keep putting our best foot forward, and when and if it does come we will be able to take it and jump into the opportunity,” Toner said.
The 2021 AFLW Grand Final kicks off on Saturday at 1:30pm local time.
