Coffs Coast football umpires mark AFL milestone

Coffs Coast identities Rocket, Slingshot and Cockroach are legends who love giving back to football. They say it’s all fun and games until an umpire slips over – then it’s hilarious.

Tall tales and true are told when a local publisher, a real estate baron and a horse dentist walk into the Coffs Hotel.

But their day jobs aren’t the glue which bind Rod ‘Rocket’ MacPherson, Scott ‘Cockroach’ Bellamy and George ‘Slingshot’ Massaad.

Rather it’s their passion for sport which unites – as the Coffs Coast identities have racked up a staggering 1500-plus games as AFL umpires.

MacPherson at age 66 is the elder statesman, while Bellamy and Massaad are 59 – and their transition from the playing ranks to officialdom came at the turn of the century.

They played together in their last game – for the then Coffs Harbour Swans in 1999.

MacPherson, general manager of Affirmations publishing house at Bellingen, said he realised it was time to hang up the playing boots when his body wasn’t recovering like it once did.

“I’d play on Saturday and wouldn’t be able to move properly until Wednesday or Thursday,” he said.

All three men wanted to stay involved in AFL, so umpiring it was – and the shift was an eye-opener.

“As a player you try and get close to the ball, but you need to be back from it when you are umpiring so you have that bigger view,” MacPherson said.

Bellamy, principal of Raine and Horne at Toormina, said players and the crowd would often press for any advantage.

“They’ll call out ‘did you see that, umpie?’ – you always see the retaliation and sometimes not the instigator,” he said.

Massaad, a horse dentist who travels across the North Coast in his specialist field, said modern AFL was a vastly different game to when he used to run around.

“It’s a lot quicker and free flowing. People don’t get hit behind anywhere near as much,” he said.

While the three share a passion for umpiring, many a moment is had at the annual officials’ end-of-season trip to Crescent Head – where some of the funnier moments are relived.

Like when Bellamy literally blew the pea out of the whistle during a preliminary final game.

“And everyone loves to see an umpire slip over,” Massaad said.

They now hope to see the next generation of umpires come through the ranks – including females and people new to the code.

“It’s something you can do for a lot of years because you’re not pulling up sore every week,” MacPherson said.

Paul Taylor, community football manager for AFL North Coast, said the organisation was extremely fortunate to have passionate, knowledgeable, and dedicated people “like these three, and their peers”.

“What they’ve given to the game over many years is priceless and we can’t thank them enough,” Mr Taylor said.

Anyone interested in umpiring at any level in the AFL North Coast in 2022 can register their interest by sending an email to [e-mail]. Introductory training will be offered as part of the AFL North Coast Education Roadshow on Saturday, March 12 (RSVP through your club or email Emily Brown).