AFL 2024: Debutant field umpire among 31 grand final officials

One preliminary final was preferred to another when it came to selecting grand final field umpires among a massive team of officials.

Veteran whistleblowers Matt Stevic and Simon Meredith will lead an umpiring team featuring a grand final debutant when Sydney meets Brisbane at the MCG on Saturday.

There will be 31 match-day officials tasked with running the grand final, from field umpires through to a “shot clock operator” in charge of keeping the game moving via the scoreboard.

Stevic and Meredith will umpire their 12th and ninth grand finals respectively, while Nick Foot was named to officiate in his first decider after narrowly missing selection last year.

Meredith, Foot and Craig Fleer, who will umpire his second grand final, all presided over the Geelong-Brisbane preliminary final at the MCG, while Stevic was the only umpire from the Sydney-Port Adelaide game to receive the nod for the decider.

AFL football boss Laura Kane said selection for the game had been “really challenging” after the strong performances “in particular last weekend”.

“The guys behind me have put in a power of work. They’re a very experienced panel, but it’s a really good problem to have, having a hard time at list management and selection,” Kane said on Wednesday.

AFL football boss Laura Kane (centre right) with head of umpiring Stephen McBurney (left) and the 2024 grand final umpiring panel. Picture: Josh Chadwick / Getty Images

“I know there was emotion, I know there was excitement, and they should all be really proud.”

Foot made it to his first grand final after being floored in a heavy collision with Western Bulldogs forward Aaron Naughton in the first quarter of his qualifying final.

He remained on the field to umpire the rest of the game and on Monday received the nod for the decider in what he described as a highly nervous moment.

“I was called on Monday around lunchtime. It was the longest morning of my life waiting for that phone call, and the senior coach went with the same opening line as he went last year when I didn’t get it, so I was a bit worried early doors … it was a rollercoaster of a phone call,” Foot said.

“Absolutely (I feel in-form), you get a pretty good grounding for a grand final with a preliminary final like Geelong-Brisbane on Saturday night, that’s for sure.

“It was a crazy last half of footy, I think everyone loved it, and hopefully we can do a similar job, blend into the game and have a great day on Saturday.”

Nick Foot made it to his first grand final as a field umpire after he was accidentally cleaned up by Western Bulldogs forward Aaron Naughton in the qualifying final. Picture: Dylan Burns / Getty Images

Emergency field umpire Andrew Stephens has not officiated in a grand final.

Boundary umpires Matt Tomkins and Matthew Konetschka were both named to umpire their sixth season decider, alongside Michael Barlow (third) and Daniel Field-Read (on debut).

Goal umpire Matthew Dervan will officiate his third grand final alongside Sam Walsh (second).

Damien Main is the emergency boundary umpire and Steven Piperno the emergency goal umpire.

Piperno was named after he was injured in a late-season home-and-away game when a Carlton member threw a bottle from the crowd that struck him in the back of the head.

He suffered a nasty cut and was forced to leave the field for medical attention.

The perpetrator was handed a lifetime ban from AFL and AFLW matches.

2024 AFL grand final officials

Field umpires: Matt Stevic, Simon Meredith, Craig Fleer, Nick Foot

Emergency field umpire: Andrew Stephens

Boundary umpires: Matt Tomkins, Matthew Konetschka, Michael Barlow, Daniel Field-Read

Emergency boundary umpire: Damien Main

Goal umpires: Matthew Dervan, Sam Walsh

Emergency goal umpire: Steven Piperno

Match managers: Sophia Samartzis, Scott Taylor

Timekeepers: David Flegg, Stan Pettett, Michael Sexton

Interchange stewards: Dusty-Lee Gould, Marcus Middleton

Shot clock operator: Ryan Burleigh

Umpire trainers: Bethany Rayner, Renae Wilke, Daniel Martin

Ball stewards: Eloise Sexton, James Fielding

ARC manager: Tim Neville

Score review: Chris Appleton, Sean Meeking, Jared Dyson, David Parker

Originally published as AFL 2024: Debutant field umpire among 31 grand final officials