Although most decisions are correct, an obvious error was made in not awarding Melbourne’s Kysaiah Pickett a free kick when he was tripped in the goal square against Hawthorn on Saturday.
Experienced commentator Gerard Whateley exclaimed on SEN: “How can you miss that? There is four of them, four of them!”
Melbourne’s Kysaiah Pickett was tripped in the goal square but the umpires didn’t pay a free kick as his team went to half-time trailing Hawthorn by one point in their round nine match at the MCG.Credit: Fox Footy
Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin refused to buy into the discussion when asked post-game.
Club officials are less concerned about whether individual decisions are incorrect than whether the AFL structure to support decision-making is at the level required to improve standards.
There is recognition that the introduction of the four-umpire system, which led to seven umpires making their AFL debuts in 2023, created a gap in experience.
There are 24 umpires on the 42-person roster who began the season with more than 100 games experience and 18 who had umpired fewer than 100 matches.
Officials who spoke to this masthead expressed concern that the number of hours umpires train each week during the season is insufficient as they believe umpires come together as a group on Tuesday nights between 4pm and 7pm.
One official suggested a system should be designed to fast-track the development of the high number of emerging umpires that have been added to the AFL’s list since 2023. This would enable more experienced umpires to work under the current system, which allows them to continue their careers outside football, while less experienced umpires spent the early part of their umpiring career more focused on their umpiring education.
About half of the current list are either self-employed or work part-time because of the irregular schedule needed to maintain to remain at the forefront of umpiring.
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An umpiring source, who wished to remain anonymous to speak freely, said the umpires spend more time on the game than is perceived, with coaches reviewing games online or on the phone on Monday before training on Tuesdays.
They then complete an online decision-making module on Wednesdays, with Thursday nights now a weekly match day.
Umpires also spend significant time outside their regular job on their fitness.
Club officials have been adamant in expressing their view they want to support umpires to be part of a system that fosters improvement and gives them the best chance of success rather than be critical.
In 2025, the number of free kicks being awarded per team per game has increased to 19.4 free kicks from 17.7 on average in the previous two seasons with holding the ball free kicks also rising to 4.6 per team per game in 2025 from 4.3 per team per game in 2023-24.
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