AFL appoints Grant Williams as new umpires boss after sacking Peter Schwab in November

AFTER sacking Peter Schwab at the end of last year the AFL has finally appointed a new umpires boss, with Grant Williams to take on the role, while two other key appointments have been made.

Peter Schwab was axed as AFL umpires boss late last year.

SWEEPING changes have been made at AFL House, with three key new appointments confirmed across umpiring, game development and Tasmanian football.

The league has installed a new head of umpiring after an extensive three-month review of the department, former AFL head of community and international development Grant Williams taking on the role.

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It was also announced on Monday that former AFL Tasmania chief executive Rob Auld — the brother of the league’s chief financial officer, Travis — had been appointed head of game development while his former post in the Apple Isle will be filled by Trisha Squires.

Williams, who also previously served as general manager of AFL Victoria, will be responsible for development of the senior umpiring panel, expansion for umpiring at all levels nationally, high performance training and recruitment.

Peter Schwab was axed as AFL umpires boss late last year.

Williams’ appointment comes after the league sacked former Hawthorn player and coach Peter Schwab last November, who had served less than 12 months as umpiring boss.

“Grant has extensive football experience, is a first-class achiever and is highly-regarded across the football industry,” AFL general manager of football operations Steve Hocking said.

“As I have said in the past, the umpiring department are the 19th team of our competition, we will resource and invest in it accordingly. I am extremely pleased that Grant will lead this team.”

Trisha Squires is the new AFL Tasmania chief executive. Picture: Matt Thompson

Auld — whose new responsibilities include the management of state programs, community program and international development — is credited with helping increase Auskick participation in Tasmania by 26 per cent year-on-year after previously carving out a successful 15-year with beverage company Lion.

Squires — the former wife of Melbourne player Troy Broadbridge who tragically died in the 2004 Boxing Day tsunami in Thailand — becomes the first female AFL state chief executive, the new position coming after a stint as partnerships and community engagement manager at AFL Tasmania.

“She is the best person to lead AFL football in Tasmania through its next phase and I congratulate her on the appointment and also becoming the first female AFL state CEO,” AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan said.

All three appointments will begin their new roles this week.