Sport
5 April, 2024
Milestone match
TONIGHT’S Hampden League season opener between Warrnambool and Koroit will mark significant milestones for two of the game’s field umpires.
Leigh McNaughton and Gavin Sell will both celebrate their 500th games; McNaughton coming from combined totals as field, boundary, goal and interchange umpire while for Sell it will mark number 500 as a field umpire (having also officiated many more games in various other roles).
The pair will be joined on-field by fellow official Steve Walker.
And making the milestone extra special for McNaughton, son Jackson will run the boundary.
“Tonight will certainly be extra special having Jackson also officiating,” McNaughton said.
“He’s now 15 and into his second year of umpiring but this will be his first time officiating a Hampden League senior game which is exciting – and his first under lights.”
McNaughton has been a member of the Warrnambool Football Umpires since 1998, having joined as a 14-year-old.
“I spent a year playing footy for East Warrnambool in 1997 but quickly found I wasn’t that great at it,” he said.
“The next season I decided to follow in my brother Wayne’s footsteps. I think he (Wayne) reached 99 games before giving it away – and now my son is following in mine which is special.”
McNaughton said while he never became an umpire to reach major milestones, he was quietly proud of his achievement.
His 500 games include 238 as a field umpire, 256 running the boundary, three games as a goal umpire and three as an interchange.
Of the many highlights to date, he fondly recalls grand final appearances for Hampden seniors on “about five occasions” and running on to the MCG as a field umpire during an under 18s Vic Country v Vic Metro as a curtain-raiser to ‘Dreamtime at the G’ between Essendon and Richmond.
McNaughton was also selected, through the umpire academy program, as a boundary umpire at GMHBA Stadium.
To celebrate tonight’s milestone, McNaughton bravely had ‘500’ shaved into the side of his head.
“If this (my haircut) can bring a smile and a few laughs to people then it’s worth it,” he said.
“I’m really looking forward to tonight’s game and the season to come.”
