Roadshow hopes to score recruits

The two umpires shared their skills and held training sessions with local umpires.

Laycock said he was never any good at playing football but enjoyed working as an umpire.

‘As a goal umpire you need to be an accurate decision maker, you need to be quick and decisive,’ he said.

Brown said working as a boundary umpire came naturally to him, but he still had to deal with sledging.

‘You don’t get much from the players; it’s more from the crowd because players suffer the consequences,’ he said.

‘But it’s a pretty good career.’

Both umpires are part of an elite group ” there are only 24 goal umpires in the competition and 39 boundary umpires.

Unlike AFL players who usually retire in their early 30s, their career can stretch until their 40s.

They were reticent to confirm whether umpires are fitter than the players are, but to qualify as an umpire Brown had to undergo a gruelling training routine.

WAFC umpire development manager Glenn Omodei said the roadshow aimed to promote umpires and encourage recruitment.