Great Southern Football League umpires co-ordinator Craig Tonkin says the umpiring group has strong numbers and they are looking forward to another big season that starts on Anzac Day.
The 2026 season will bring new challenges with new AFL rule adjustments, but Tonkin said they were expected to have only a minimal impact on umpiring.
“I reckon they are minimal, they won’t make a lot of difference,” he said.
“People think they make a big difference but they don’t really when it comes down to it.
“I think it will (put pressure on umpires) but it shouldn’t — players and umpires will get used to it pretty quickly.”
Tonkin said he was optimistic about the new wave of officials coming through the ranks, with a few already getting pushed through to the senior grades.
“We have some good young umpires coming through,” he said.
“We’ve got good young umpires and we’ll be looking to push more young umpires through from the Southern Districts Junior Football so they transition from that to senior umpiring.
“Davey Wignall, Jayden Wood and Harrison McWhirter are the good young umpires that we will be pushing through to senior umpiring.”
Despite the healthy numbers, Tonkin said he was always looking to recruit more umpires.
“We’re looking good — we’ve got good numbers, probably similar to last year,” he said.
“We always need more umpires so we’re in for plenty of recruiting.”
Tonkin said the umpiring group was ready to kick off the season.
“We always look forward to round one, and the guys are keen because they like doing it, so we are looking forward to it.”
Wignall, Tonkin and Isaiah McLeod were last year’s league grand final umpires.
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