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GF debutant joins veteran umpires for AFL decider

Shayne HopeAAP
Matt Stevic will umpire his 12th grand final, with Simon Meredith, Nick Foot and Craig Fleer. (Mark Dadswell/AAP PHOTOS)
Camera IconMatt Stevic will umpire his 12th grand final, with Simon Meredith, Nick Foot and Craig Fleer. (Mark Dadswell/AAP PHOTOS) Credit: AAP

Field umpire Nick Foot will officiate his first AFL grand final after being selected for the season decider alongside Craig Fleer, Simon Meredith and Matt Stevic.

Foot will make his grand final debut at the MCG on Saturday after umpiring 238 games, including eight finals.

Stevic, a veteran of 498 games and 59 finals, will umpire his 11th consecutive grand final and 12th overall when Sydney take on Brisbane.

Meredith, another veteran with 498 games and 50 finals to his name, will blow the whistle in his ninth grand final.

Fleer will umpire his second grand final, having made his debut in the historic 2020 decider under lights at the Gabba.

The four field umpires have officiated a total of 1,693 AFL games between them, including 137 finals and 20 grand finals.

The Game AFL 2024

"Nick, Matt, Simon and Craig have performed outstandingly this season and their appointment to the 2024 AFL grand final is a testament to their hard work," AFL football boss Laura Kane said.

"I also want to congratulate each boundary and goal umpire selected and thank every umpire who has officiated in the AFL this season.

"From our timekeepers and interchange stewards to our shot clock operator, umpire trainers, match managers, Arc officials and ball stewards the biggest game on the footballing calendar does not happen without all your hard work."

Emergency field umpire Andrew Stephens is yet to officiate in a grand final.

Boundary umpires Matt Tomkins and Matthew Konetschka will each umpire their sixth season decider, alongside Michael Barlow (third) and Daniel Field-Read (debut).

Goal umpire Matthew Dervan will officiate his third grand final alongside Sam Walsh (second).

Damien Main is the emergency boundary umpire and Steven Piperno is the emergency goal umpire.

In August, Piperno was injured in a home-and-away match when a Carlton member threw a bottle from the crowd that struck the goal umpire's head.

Piperno suffered a nasty cut and required medical attention, and was replaced by an emergency goal umpire during the match.

The perpetrator was handed a lifetime ban from AFL and AFLW matches.

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