Four field umpires plan in train as AFL sets up working party

The AFL have established a working party to assess how a four-umpire system will work in 2023 before they take the concept to clubs for feedback.

The move to increase the number of field umpires officiating in games from next year was revealed in August with the league wanting to spread the load across individual umpires, so the best decision makers can stay in the game for longer.

However, the idea has now moved into a testing phase as the working party of AFL officials, umpiring coaches and umpires discuss how they would operate in practice with four umpires on the field.

There is also a potential for the move to be trialled in the Northern Territory Football League which is played during the summer before being given the green light in 2023.

A working party has been set up to determine how the four-umpire system would workCredit:Getty Images

Four umpires have been trialled previously with then football operations boss Steve Hocking introducing four umpires during round 13 and 14 of 2018 adding to previous trials which found high intensity running declined, yet there was a slight increase in free kicks.

The head of competition management Laura Kane told 3AW in August the game had sped up considerably since the three-umpire system was introduced in 1994.

“If you couple that with how big the oval is and the surface of the field is, it’s a really hard job. If our umpires can run less at those high speeds and position themselves better, we think it will lead to better decision-making,” Kane said.

“It will also lead to more opportunity, less fatigue, we can keep our best umpires for longer, and we can have opportunities for women to come through the pathway in a different way than they ever have before.”

There is yet to be a determination on whether the number of umpires on a list would increase if four umpires were introduced.

In 2022, there were 34 umpires on the AFL’s list with an ageing demographic. An increase in the number of umpires may pave the way for the league to retain experienced umpires while opening up opportunities for developing umpires to follow the pathway and gain experience needed to umpire in the AFL.

The push comes with an understanding that there are more umpires needed across all levels of the game, particularly with the increase in participation driven by the introduction of AFLW and increased popularity among women to play football.

The AFL conceded earlier this year they needed to act to improve the treatment of women umpires across all leagues and the conditions in which they operate after an AFL commissioned report on the retention and participation of female umpires was leaked when the league failed to act on its recommendations.

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