Having moved to Melbourne from Shepparton at the beginning of ’01, at the age of 17, to trial for the VFL Development Panel, Matt said the hardest thing was moving away from the family and adjusting to the requirements to umpire at VFL level at a young age whilst at university.

In 2000, Matt umpired the Murray Football League Grand Final while he was at high school studying year 12.

From a young age, Matt umpired at the Goulburn Valley Umpires Association and was a passionate young lad who wanted to make it to top. “From the age of 15 I realised I wanted to take umpiring more seriously and wanted to pursue the dream of making it to the AFL,” he said.

“I played with Wanganui (High School Football Club) until I was 16, where I realised I had more of an opportunity to make the elite level as an umpire rather than a player.”

Matt had a few achievements in his time at the VFL including his first TAC Cup final in 2003, Reserve Grand Final in 2009 and the pinnacle VFL Grand Final in 2010. He umpired his first Senior VFL match in 2004 with Chris Donlon and Chris Kamolins who both went on to umpire AFL in 2005.

In 2011 Matt was fortunate enough to be offered promotion to the AFL Umpires panel wearing the number 11 for 62 matches at the highest level. Having run at many different stadiums including the Gabba, SCG, Subacio, Adelaide Oval and Etihad Stadium, nothing was better than running at the MCG. “It was absolutely amazing, (running) at the G, always exciting,” he said.

The most memorable game at the AFL was Carlton v Essendon due to the fact of having 72,000 supporters in attendance. “It certainly gave me an adrenaline rush which was amazing.”

Having returned to the VFL in 2015, Matt went through a tough period with an achilles injury which he had been struggling with for some time. He underwent surgery in September of 2014 and returned to umpiring at state league level in 2015. A 6-month rehab training program 7 days per week to get his body right for the season was extremely tough, but he was focused on returning to the football field.

Unfortunately the surgery and some related calf issues made his year difficult to get continuous games under his belt in the first half of the season, and he didn’t get into the VFL Seniors until round 11. Matt finished off the season with 10 consecutive senior matches before making the call to AFL Victoria Umpires Coach Cameron Nash that his time was up.

“I spoke to Cameron in the week leading into finals advising him I’m mentally shot and it’s in my best interests that I step away from umpiring to focus on other aspects of life,” Matt said.

The VFUA caught up with Head Coach Cameron Nash, where he commented, “Matt was an umpire who got the best out of himself at both AFL and VFL levels and was good enough to umpire 62 games at the highest level.”

The next chapter of Matt’s life is unknown, as he simply doesn’t know what normal people do on the weekends outside of footy.

“I’m looking forward to having a few quiet beers and reconnecting with old friends.”

Matt’s love of the punt in horse racing is well known around umpiring circles, so he is looking forward to following his own horses around the country.

The VFUA wishes Matt a happy and successful career outside of umpiring!