July 2026

It feels like the season only started a few weeks ago, yet here we are almost at the pointy end of the season. It’s been a relatively quiet 2026 from the VFUA perspective.

The F&C Committee worked under some tight timelines to get our priorities to the Umpire Department. We should be moving to the next phase very shortly where we will be engaging with you all again to provide feedback on the proposed agreement.

With the addition of members joining us from outside Victoria, I have used some opportunities to meet the other state members on my travels to give a run down of what the VFUA does and how we can support members across all states. Thank you to those umpires who joined me post-training in Queensland (New South Wales you’re up next!)

The year has continued to provide an abundance of milestones. For a program that continues to turn over talent, there has been a mix of debuts, and game milestones ranging from 50 through to 300. I look forward to acknowledging those achievements at our next Association Meeting in August.

We have welcomed the ‘Next Steps’ umpires into the VFUA family. Those umpires have joined us in a brief stint to help cover the loss of numbers transitioning to AFLW. We have offered these umpires an Associate-style membership for their short-term to acknowledge their appointments but also offer any advocacy and support if needed during this time.

Lastly, as we head towards the end of the home and away season, it is an exciting time for some, and can be difficult for others. Please remember to be mindful of those umpires who may experience some heartache after many months and years of development in the coming weeks, but let’s also celebrate one another for the progress and achievements to come.

Enjoy the final few rounds and I wish everyone the best of luck for the finals campaign.

Andrew Talbot
VFUA President

May 2026

The 2026 season is well underway. I’d firstly like to welcome all our new members - over 20 umpires promoted from community umpire groups in Victoria and also to our ACT, NSW, QLD and TAS counterparts! The constitution change at the AGM allowed us to provide membership options across all Eastern states and territories to ensure our membership base is reflective of who is umpiring across all four competitions.

Speaking of the AGM, we also welcomed in our next cohort of Life Members. Congratulations to Callum Leonard, Anthony Krykou, Peter Howe and Joon-Yip Wong. We will formally welcome them at this year’s Life Member event to be held on Sunday 12 July. Our 2026 Executive was confirmed at the AGM with some changes. With our beloved ‘Chairman’ retiring in 2025, Ian Herman stepped up from Dev Field Track Representative to Vice-President. Emily Jose (Administrator), ‘Fleggy’ (Historian), Jenna Green (Socials), Ben Tingiri and Brady Gutbier (Track Reps) have all returned for this season. We welcome back Brad Kellett after a year off VFUA duties, and welcome new Executive members Jack Cannon, Ben Lefebvre and Lachlan Perdon as their squads Track Reps.

Unfortunately, our Season Launch was for the second year in a row a disappointment. This will be something we will look more closely into towards the end of this year ahead of 2027. But some early season success saw plenty of members representing the ‘Big V’ in the Gather Round SANFL vs VFL state games. For the Men’s game, congratulations to Sam Ferguson, Sam Whetton (F), Mitch Dorling, Kaitlin Barr (B) and Tayla Manning (G). For the Women’s game, congratulations to Sam Ritchie, Emma Stark (F), Emily Best (B) and Courtney Stelling (G).

Our current Fees & Conditions agreement is in its final year. The process for negotiations has begun, starting with collecting everyone’s feedback. Thank you everyone for having open discussions so that we can represent you as accurately as possible, as squads, disciplines and a collaborative umpiring group. My final thanks goes to those squad representatives - Nick Scott, Patrick Sexton (F), Ben Rofe, Angus Cameron (B), Chris Doyle and Alex Tomada (G) - for coordinating your discussions and will continue to represent your squad with the VFUA throughout this season.

We are approximately a third of the way through the home and away season already. Continue to work hard, seek feedback and clarity, and enjoy your umpiring.

Andrew Talbot
VFUA President