EFL 2022: Mooroolbark’s Fred Jordan celebrates 1500th match umpired

If you’ve ever visited Mooroolbark Football Club, the chances are you’ve met Fred Jordan, the club’s everywhere man who toasted 1500 matches as a goal umpire on Saturday.

If you’ve ever ventured out to Heights Reserve, the chances are you’ve met Fred Jordan.

Revered as the everywhere man at Mooroolbark, the club stalwart notched his 1500th match as a goal umpire last Saturday after first donning the white lab-coat in 1996.

There’s no job too big or too small for ‘Freddy’ – who was born deaf and has difficulty speaking – but it hasn’t stopped the life member pouring his heart and soul into the club across five decades, volunteering at more than 2000 games.

It was business as usual on Saturday, arriving a tick after seven in the morning and leaving after eight at night.

Fred Jordan has clocked up around 50 years of volunteering at Mooroolbark. Picture: Lawrence Pinder

Property and intercharge steward, sweeping the sheds, goal-umpiring, right down to making sure the water bottles are filled – you name it, he’s done it.

Just ask Mooroolbark president and past-player Scott Dimitriou, who began in the seniors in 2002 and quickly learned what Fred meant to the place.

“I tell you what, we’d be in a lot of trouble without him,” Dimitriou says.

“He’s always bringing the goalpads in, on Saturday for the first time ever we had five games with the senior women and veterans also playing, which was a big day.

“Getting there an hour-and-a-half beforehand to make sure all the goalpads are up, all the rooms are clean and ready to go for the opposition, all the water bottles are filled, the ice is all ready, it’s an amazing effort.”

He’s front and centre celebrating every Mooroolbark victory – and there’s been plenty of those lately.

The club won a 17th consecutive match on Saturday (including 13 this season), as it heads the table in the Eastern league’s Division 1.

The players are always greeted by an ecstatic Fred in the rooms before belting out the song, and he’ll gladly tip a couple of quiet beers in to close out the day.

“Every time we get to sing that song, he’s up there on that stool,” Dimitriou says.

This is Fred Jordan. He played at Mooroolbark & was pretty handy, he tells us. Yesterday goal umpired his 1500th game. He’s the Sherrin man, the drinks man, the goalpads man, the everything man. He’s also deaf - it hasn’t stopped him. Follows every tip, every story. We love him. pic.twitter.com/qsHhgdcwwY

— Lauren Wood (@LaurenHeraldSun) July 10, 2022

“Seeing him on the weekend was a highlight, he’d had a couple of quiet beers in the rooms and one of the captains, Kane Noonan, gave him the footy and he loved that.

“He just loves coming into the rooms after a win and seeing him there, it’s something you always remember.”

There have been plenty of highlights across the journey – none more so than the weekend – but watching the club break a longstanding flag drought stands out.

Mooroolbark had survived relegation from Division 3 across 2006 and ‘07, before falling agonisingly short of a grand final win in 2008.

But the Mustangs bouncing back 12 months later to toast their first crown in 21 years is an enduring memory.

You can bet your house Fred was standing up on that stool in the rooms leading the rendition of the song.

“To see his face when we won the (2009) flag was something I’ll never forget,” Dimitriou says, who played in the match.

Dimitriou says he’ll never forget the beaming pride on Jordan’s face after the club delivered its first senior flag since 1988. Picture: Supplied

There’s no shortage of staunch clubmen that can vouch Fred provided plenty of his own highlights on-field, too.

The uncompromising defender began his senior career for the Mustangs in 1975, finishing runner-up for the best-and-fairest in ’76 and ’80.

A broken jaw forced him into retirement in 1983, but the stories of a handy career remain widely told.

“Some of the old boys around the club still tell me about how much of a good footy player he was,” Dimitriou says.

“They reckon he was a half-back flanker, as tough as nails and had a really, really good brain for footy.

“He was always deaf and to be competitive in the EFL and go all right at it whilst not being able to hear or talk is a bloody amazing effort.”

A delighted Jordan was presented with his old goal umpire coat framed with a plaque last Saturday to celebrate the 1500 milestone. Picture: Lawrence Pinder

And the family tradition continues with grandson Jai Jordan tearing the senior competition apart this season, spearheading the club’s unbeaten run with 43 goals to his name across 13 matches.

Not a kick, mark, handball, goal – anything – of Jai’s goes uncounted by Fred, nor unheralded to anyone within earshot.

“He lets everyone know how he’s (Jai’s) going, he’s having a massive year for the club so (Fred’s) really up and about,” Dimitriou says.

Local football is built on volunteers.

They form the lifeblood of Australian rules clubs the country over – and Fred is just that to the Mustangs, the president says.

“If the EFL didn’t send goal umpires for the senior women or whatnot (last Saturday), he would have done all three games – the ‘19s, women’s and reserves – it’s just a credit to him, he’s just a fantastic fella and we’re lucky we’ve got him at our club.”