Simon Meredith (umpire)

Simon Meredith
Meredith umpires an AFLW match in February 2021
Personal information
Full name Simon Meredith
Date of birth (1975-03-11) 11 March 1975 (age 49)
Umpiring career
Years League Role Games
2004–present AFL Field umpire 469

Simon Meredith (born 11 March 1975) is an Australian rules football field umpire in the Australian Football League. [1] One of the league's most experienced umpires, he has officiated in eight AFL Grand Finals: 2012,[1] 2013,[2] 2014,[3] 2016,[4] 2017, 2020[5] ,2022 and the 2024 AFL Grand Final.

In June 2014, Meredith suffered severe headaches whilst umpiring a game between Sydney and Port Adelaide. He was taken to hospital and diagnosed with a subarachnoid hemorrhage. He spent over a week in hospital before returning to Melbourne. He recovered fully and went on to umpire in that season's grand final.[6]

In 2016, Meredith umpired the Grand Final between the Western Bulldogs and Sydney Swans.[7]

In 2017, Meredith received AFL life membership after umpiring 300 games,[8] becoming the 22nd umpire to do so.[9] Meredith officiated his 400th match when Fremantle played the Western Bulldogs during Round 12 of the 2021 season. He became the 7th umpire in VFL/AFL history to achieve this feat.

Footnotes

  1. ^ a b "21. Simon Meredith – AFLUA". aflua.com.au. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  2. ^ Gauci, Julia (24 September 2013). "AFL announces Grand Final umpires". Australian Football League Umpires Association. Retrieved 26 September 2013.
  3. ^ "Umpires Named For 2014 Toyota AFL Grand Final - AFL.com.au". afl.com.au. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  4. ^ Guthrie, Ben (27 September 2016). "Veteran gets his turn as Grand Final umpires named". AFL.com.au. Bigpond. Retrieved 27 September 2016.
  5. ^ "Revealed: Meet the umpires for the 2020 Toyota AFL Grand Final". afl.com.au. 20 October 2020. Retrieved 20 October 2020.
  6. ^ Quayle, Emma (26 June 2014). "AFL umpire Simon Meredith on the mend after major health scare". The Age. Retrieved 27 June 2014.
  7. ^ Cordy, Neil (2 October 2016). "AFL Grand Final 2016: Western Bulldogs heavily favoured in free kick count". Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2 October 2016.
  8. ^ Guthrie, Ben. "Gary Ablett among new AFL Life Members - goldcoastfc.com.au". goldcoastfc.com.au. Retrieved 3 May 2018.
  9. ^ Gordon, Chris. "Simon Meredith joins the elite 300 Club – AFLUA". aflua.com.au. Retrieved 3 May 2018.