By JARROD POTTER
RUNNING the boundary and waving the flags for over 20 years, Southern Football League umpire David Weatherhead stood tall in his 500th senior match.
Weatherhead, 68, who lives in North Dandenong, flocked to the sport after emigrating from Leicester, England in the 1970s.
His first foray in football wasn’t to play the sport, but to pick a VFL (now AFL) team – choosing his beloved Geelong Cats – but after 10 years on the boundary watching the sport he decided to pitch in and get involved.
Weatherhead donned the white uniform running the boundary for the Eastern Football League in 1991 as a late convert to the profession at 46-years-old to help pay the bills, but has grown to love the sport of his adopted country.
“I just enjoy it,” Weatherhead said.
“The people you meet are great and you get used to the abuse but now I don’t cop too much.
“I took up umpiring at the age of 46 and now 68 – I never played, just umpired – initially just for the money – but then the interest got me.”
Into his 23rd season of umpiring – 18 with the EFL, four with the SFL and a 50-50 split between boundary and goal umpiring – Weatherhead decided to switch across to the SFL and has been waving the flags in the league, especially at Power Reserve in Doveton, ever since.
He prefers to stick in the goals nowadays – as there’s “less running” but always enjoyed his time patrolling the white line and looked back fondly on three back-to-back reserves’ EFL grand finals as his umpiring highlight.
His 500th match was held on Saturday as SFL Division 2 team Doveton Eagles clashed with Oakleigh District at Power Reserve.
