A familiar face will be patrolling the boundary at Garfield Recreation Reserve when Gippsland Power continues its pre-season preparations with a hit out against Eastern Ranges on Sunday.
Gippsland Umpires Association product Adam Young will be part of the umpiring team for the practice match between the TAC Cup rivals, in a rare foray on home soil.
Young, 20, is entering his third season as a VFL-listed umpire and is ready to take his career to the next level.
''Last year I had seven senior games and the rest were either TAC Cup or what they call the development league, which is basically the VFL seconds,'' Young said.
''This year I'll hopefully go into the senior squad and do mostly senior games.''
A powerful runner, Young was a standout junior during his time in the GUA and caught the attention of ex-AFL umpire Chris Roberts, who himself came through the GUA ranks.
Roberts recognised the talent, but taught Young valuable lessons about fitness.
As a boundary umpire, Young averages 15-20km per game, but knows it will only get harder if he is able to achieve his goals.
''You have to be pretty fit, but I would like to do AFL one day, so hopefully I can get there,'' Young said.
Sunday's game will be Young's second of the pre-season, having been involved in a practice match at Victoria Park last week.
It also represents an opportunity to return to familiar surroundings.
Young hails from Nilma, but between his VFL commitments and osteopathy university studies in Melbourne, he only took on one game in his home region last season.
''We get the odd week off up here, which means you can do a local game if you want, but sometimes you need that week off as well,'' he said.
''It will be nice to get back and do a game in Gippsland.''
Opening bounce is 11am.
Last Modified on 16/03/2015 09:11