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Veteran whistleblower ‘Razor’ Ray Chamberlain will be forced to watch the 2018 decider from the bench after he was named as the emergency umpire for Saturday’s decider between Collingwood and West Coast.
The coveted field umpire positions for the big dance have been awarded to experienced trio Brett Rosebury (8), Matthew Stevic (9) and Shaun Ryan (25) – the same panel that officiated the preliminary final between Richmond and Collingwood on Friday night.
Rosebury – who’ll be umpiring game number 399 – is appearing in his seventh grand final (including the 2010 replay) and his first since 2015. He was named as the emergency for last year’s decider after having blown the whistle for every grand final from 2009 and 2013.
Stevic notched his 350th match in the Round 21 clash between Hawthorn and Geelong, and will be umpiring his sixth grand final in seven seasons. Stevic made his grand final debut in 2012’s classic between the Swans and Hawks and, bar 2013, has appeared in every decider since.
Ryan, on the other hand, was considered the top umpire in the system prior to a brief retirement where he focused on his work as a barrister. He’s barely missed a beat upon his return, however, sharing a milestone with Stevic in Round 21 when he umpired his 300th game.
He umpired five deciders in a row between 2008 and 2011, before returning to the game in 2015 and controlling the 2017 decider.
None of the three grand final umpires controlled the Round 17 clash between these sides, where the Eagles triumphed by 35 points.
Additionally, neither team had more than one grand final umpire appointed to any of their home-and-away matches this season, either having one of this year’s chosen panel, or none.
The Magpies played six matches under the control of Rosebury, Stevic or Ryan, including last week’s preliminary final where all three umpired. They won five of those clashes, with the Round 2 loss to the Giants (with Stevic in control) the only blemish.
The Eagles, on the other hand, played eight games under grand final umpires, winning all four under Ryan, splitting their two under Stevic, but losing both matches controlled by Rosebury (Round 15 against Adelaide and Round 19 against North Melbourne).
The boundary umpires will be Nathan Doig (WA), Chris Gordon (VIC), Michael Marantelli (VIC) and Mark Thomson (SA), while Steve Williams (VIC) and Steve Piperno (VIC) will be behind the goals.