WHISTLEBLOWER JOINS ELITE CLUB

u We know how rare it is for players to reach the coveted 400-match milestone, with only seven having done so in the history of the game.

Given only 457 umpires have officiated at AFL level, it barely needs to be said that 400 games on the whistle is just as big an achievement.

And well-known official Mathew Nicholls will join that exclusive club when he becomes just the eighth man to umpire 400 matches when Melbourne takes on Fremantle at the MCG on Saturday.

One of the game’s best bouncers, Nicholls will join games record-holder Shane McInerney (502), Hayden Kennedy (495), Brett Rosebury (492), Matt Stevic (461), Simon Meredith (452), Rowan Sawers (410) and Stephen McBurney (401) in reaching the milestone.

Having first picked up a whistle in the Diamond Valley (now Northern) League in 1993, Nicholls joined the VFL panel in 1999 and took charge of the 2002 VFL Grand Final.

He won an AFL contract the following season, debuting in the St Kilda v Adelaide game in round three, 2003, and going on to umpire 28 AFL finals, including the first two Grand Finals of Hawthorn’s three-peat in 2013 and 2014, being named the All-Australian umpire in the first of those seasons.

Upcoming Broadcast Matches

Round 11, May 26

Sydney v Carlton (Arabic)

Round 12, June 2

Melbourne v Carlton (Punjabi)

Round 13, June 10

Hawthorn v Brisbane (Greek)

Round 14, June 18

North Melbourne v Western Bulldogs (Punjabi)

Round 15, June 24

Sydney v West Coast (Mandarin)

Nicholls is just one of many umpires to reach milestones in 2023, with Meredith having already cracked 450 games in round eight.

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