Sully commenced playing Colts football in 1958 with Gulnare at age 12 in the Broughton League in South Australia. He represented the Broughton League against Mid North in 1959 and 1960.
In June 1960 because of the relocation of his father's employment, Sully played with Riverton in the Mid North League and played in his only winning Grand Final at the end of the 1960 season.
In 1961, the town in which he lived, Tarlee, put a team in the `A2' Division of the Mid North League. Unfortunately Tarlee lost the Grand Final in 1961 after being Minor Premiers. The following year, Tarlee was promoted to the 'A`' Division and the team finished fifth.
In 1963 with the demise of the Tarlee team due to the lack of players, Sully played with Hamley Bridge in the Adelaide Plains Association. Hamley Bridge finished third that season.
In 1964, knowing that his parents had purchased a home in Adelaide and that Sully was going to be transferred due to work commitments, he signed to play with Exeter in the South Australian Amateur League. In that year Sully played in the Reserves until mid June when he finally made the `A' grade side. But the following week due to a bout of the `flu' Sully was back in Reserves against Brighton.
During the second quarter of the game after having taken a mark in the forward line, a Brighton player who was in a pack accidentally landed heavily across Sully's right leg which resulted in a fracture to Sully's Fibula. This ended his 1964 season, as the plaster on his leg did not come off until Grand Final day.
In December 1964, an umpire approached Sully from the Amateur League, who coincidentally travelled to work with him and convinced Sully that his future in football was with the whistle.
After a number of tentative pre season matches in 1965 in first grade (where new umpires were `thrown to the wolves') Sully commenced umpiring in the Senior Colts `A' division as a Field Umpire. After finishing these games he would then Boundary umpire in `A1' division.
On 1 July 1965, Sully's career was curtailed, as he was required to complete two years of National Service at the behest of the Australian Government. Football was a part of the physical preparation as soldiers at the Army camp at Puckapunyal and Sully was able to umpire Intra Company games.
These games were of a much higher standard than the Senior Colts matches he had umpired in the Amateur League due to the higher skill level of the players that had been called up to do National Service.
In November 1965 Sully was transferred to Ingleburn and applied to umpire with the NSW Football League in 1966. Shortly after commencing umpiring a number of minor grade matches in 1966, Sully gave umpiring away because information given to him by a selector was that no one wanted an `outsider' who didn't want to join the `clichÃ
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Sully then returned to playing football with Southern Districts for a number of matches before he was transferred to Singleton. It was in Singleton that Sully umpired his first game in the Hunter region between the National Service side and a RAAF side. The RAAF side was no match for the Army team on the day.
At the end of June 1967, Sully was discharged and he returned to Adelaide where he took up umpiring in the SANFL. He travelled to various country areas before the end of the 1967 season. Sully did not umpire any finals matches in the 1967 as he married on 2 September 1967. Sully has now been happily married for 38 years and has two wonderful daughters from the wedded bliss.
In 1968, Sully returned to the Amateur League and umpired in the `A5' Division after putting on a little bit of extra weight. By the commencement of the 1965 season, Sully had worked hard and made his way into the `A1' Reserve Division in the Amateur League from which he was selected for representative duties to umpire in the Australian University Championships.
A medical problem thwarted his career, as he had to have an operation on his nasal passage to enable him to breathe properly. The accident occurred in 1963 when a cricket bat hit Sully across the bridge of his nose as he was keeping wickets for Tarlee in the local cricket competition.
After the operation, Sully had found that the selection criteria for the Amateur League umpires had changed and he completed the season in the `A5' Division.
In October 1969, Sully joined his wife (who was already back in NSW) in Newcastle. He resigned from his position as a Station Clerk with the South Australian Railways and took up a position with BHP.
In 1970 Sully commenced umpiring in the Newcastle AFL and joined the umpiring Association (the NAFLUA). He was also appointed Coach in 1970 and 1971. Due to his work commitments (working shift work) Sully's availability to attend training and umpire matches was hindered, something that unfortunately still continues to this day.
Since Sully started his career he has seen the entry of teams from Singleton Army Camp, Gosford, Warners Bay, Nelson Bay, Maitland, Coalfields, Williamtown, Muswellbrook, Raymond Terrace, Wallsend Lake Macquarie and Singleton enter the Newcastle AFL (now the Black Diamond AFL). Unfortunately some of those teams are no longer competing in the competition.
In 1970 Sully umpired his first Grand Final in the Newcastle AFL and since that time he has been involved in umpiring Grand Finals with the Newcastle AFL or the Black Diamond AFL (inaugurated in 2000) on 25 occasions. On these 25 occasions, Sully has represented all three disciplines of umpiring, i.e. Field, Boundary and Goal.
During Sully's career he has had the pleasure of field umpiring in Newcastle with John McCormick, Greg Russell, Dave Musty, Eric Rogers, Darrel Luck, Michael Stone, Bruce Edmiston, Lee Gardiner, Tommy Martin, Roger Crowhurst, Ashley Borg and Grant Godfrey.
Last Modified on 19/05/2006 16:38