In an unfortunate turn of events, it has been confirmed Gippsland Umpires Association young gun Nick Frost will miss the V/Line Cup.
It comes as a tough break for Frost, who received confirmation from the doctor that there was no chance of racing the clock to be fit for the under 15 state country championships carnival to be played in AFL grand final week.
The premature end to the season due to a skiing accident comes as a blow to the talented youngster, who won the 2014 Ray Barwick award and was on track for a big finish following another strong season.
While GUA boast other talented young umpires who would relish the opportunity to take part in the carnival, it is understood the option of finding a potential replacement for Frost on the panel is off the table.
Jacob Stuckey now remains the sole field umpire from GUA in the squad, which was selected from the AFL Victoria Country umpire academy.
Making the move from boundary to field this season, Stuckey has also shown rapid improvement and development.
Stuckey’s strong season, commitment and positive attitude was rewarded at GUA’s Life Member’s Dinner on Thursday night, winning the Ray Barwick award for 2015.
Boundary umpire Alec Bedford will join Stuckey at the carnival, along with goal umpire Brayden Marriott.
Development coach Allan Magor, goal umpire coach Brett Marriott and boundary umpire coach Davyd Reid will provide match day coaching to umpires during the carnival.
The carnival will be conducted from Monday to Thursday of AFL grand final week, with matches to be played in Moe, Traralgon and Morwell.
Previously played in metropolitan Melbourne during April, it will be the first time the carnival will be played in country Victoria.
The structure of the tournament has also been altered and will include regionally-based teams which are more aligned to the existing TAC Cup regions.
Teams that participated in previous years, such as Ballarat, South West, Hampden, and Wimmera/Mallee will unite and fall under the banner of the Rebels, while Sunraysia, Central Murray and Bendigo will combine as the Pioneers.
These changes are likely to be supported by regionally-based representative trials to be held earlier in the year that will result in 14 teams, aligned to the six existing country TAC Cup regions, competing across two divisions.
The move to AFL Grand Final Week will allow the TAC Cup regions and TAC Youth Girls Academies the best possible opportunity to select the most talented players for their respective U16 and Youth Girls Squads.
The umpiring squad, which includes some of the best young umpiring talent in Country Victoria, will live in at Federation University’s student accommodation at Churchill during the carnival.
Other umpiring associations represented in the panel include Geelong, Ballarat, Latrobe Valley, Mornington Peninsula-based Southern, Yarra Ranges, Rochester and Echuca, Sunraysia, Wimmera, Northern District, North-East border, Bendigo, South Gippsland and Sale.
The West Gippsland-based GUA had done well to secure four places for the carnival, more than larger Associations such as Bendigo, Ballarat and Southern.
Geelong umpires head the list with seven selections, the GUA next best.
Selection is a credit to the talented umpires selected and GUA coaching staff, who have worked hard in achieving advanced coaching accreditation.
Last Modified on 18/09/2015 12:39