Ray Chamberlain to umpire AFLW season opener as one of three AFL umpires to officiate during women’s season
You can’t keep Ray Chamberlain out of the spotlight for long. The divisive AFL umpire has been rostered to officiate on the opening weekend of AFLW and he’ll be blowing the whistle in prime time.
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The pleas of AFL Women’s players to have the game’s top whistleblowers adjudicate their competition is set to be met for the first time.
Simon Meredith — who has had the whistle in five AFL Grand Finals, Ray Chamberlain and Eleni Glouftsis — who in 2017 became the first female to serve as field umpire in an AFL match — have been confirmed to officiate in AFL Women’s matches in 2020.
Chamberlain has been given Friday’s season opener between Richmond and Carlton, while Meredith will take charge of Saturday’s Melbourne-North Melbourne game and Glouftis will officiate on Saturday night in Brisbane.
League chief Gillon McLachlan and football operations boss Steve Hocking received direct word from players as collective bargaining agreement discussions reached flashpoint late last year, and have granted the wish as the fourth season of the burgeoning competition looms large next week.
McLachlan and Hocking were among a contingent of league officials to speak personally with players amid the CBA saga, with the request to have AFL umpires at the helm of AFLW games emerging as a key concern for players.
No AFL listed umpires officiated in any AFLW game in 2019.
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The AFL Umpire Association — which oversees 34 field umpires — has agreed to support the move for AFL field umpires to officiate the selected games, with the majority of the game’s 34 field umpires to get the call-up.
“After we met with a number of players last year and listening to their feedback on the league and the game, it was clear their desire to involve AFL-listed field umpires into their AFLW matches,” Hocking said.
“I am really happy we have been able to make this happen for season 2020, which will not only have a positive impact on the matches, but also the development of the AFLW field umpire group while enhancing the officiating across the competition.”
The umpires were told of the shift at training on Wednesday night.
The overhaul of the competition’s field umpiring ranks comes after a number of AFLW coaches and players expressed their dismay at the level of umpiring over the competition’s first three seasons.
Half of the competition’s 56 home-and-away games will feature an AFL field umpire, with all 14 teams to be allocated an AFL umpire appointment — with plans to be spread evenly
— by Round 3 of the competition, which kicks off on February 7.
Nine appointments have been allocated for Rounds 1 and 2.
Six appointments have been reserved for the women’s finals series, while up to two AFL field umpires could officiate the women’s grand final.
Three AFLW umpires from last season have since been promoted to the AFL ranks.
Carlton coach Daniel Harford said during last season that he considered “a perfect scenario” would be “to have a senior umpire out there helping the two others on their way through” – a call that was at the time rejected by the league which said it had been “pleased” with the standard of officiating.
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A stand-alone umpire panel for AFLW matches had been implemented for the first time in 2019, which included state league umpires and those in line for an AFL berth.
But when fronted by the players, McLachlan and Hocking are understood to have changed their minds and began consulting with umpires shortly after.
“The AFL umpires association were really supportive, providing more opportunity for growth across the AFL and AFLW umpires,” Hocking said.
“We learned a lot in the discussions with the AFLW delegates and the decision to use AFL umpires was a direct outcome of those constructive conversations. We are really excited about this season with four new teams and over 120 new players and looking forward to a huge night with Richmond and Carlton opening the season at Ikon Park.”