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With 500 games now under his belt, umpire Wally Martin reflects a long career where he traded his mouth guard for a whistle.
It’s been a long time coming for Wally, who on the weekend umpired his 500th game of football at the Power v Magpies Hume League clash.
After spending 25 years playing in the old Coreen League for Buraja, Martin has gone on to have an umpiring career that has spanned over 23 years, when he decided he’d help out with an officiating shortage by umpiring a thirds match.
“I was playing seconds at the time and the thirds were short of umpires, so I thought I’d give it a crack, then one thing led to another and here I am,” he said.
The visceral decision to hang up the boots and instead don the runners and sweatbands, has seen Wally go from umpiring his first game at Corryong in 1996, to umpiring in several Grand Finals and a handful of Ovens and Murray games - which stick out as career highlights for him.
“I umpired half a dozen Ovens and Murray senior games eight to ten years ago as well as Talangatta League, Hume League and Upper Murray grand finals.
“It was pretty special to be selected for those, as an umpire it’s the highlight of the year, it’s what you train all season for.”
Having been around the game for so long Martin has observed how the game has changed, particularly with the fast style of play and handballing in congestion. But certain traditions remain rife, which he joked might be for karmic reasons.
“You definitely still cop it from players on the field but I’ve always said that they’re not saying anything to me that I haven’t said myself, because as a player I didn’t have much time for umpires.
At 65 years of age, Wally admits that his body can be a bit achey at times. As a result he has scaled back with his training and has instead replaced it with more hot baths, but he still hopes he’s able to continue to do what he loves for the foreseeable future.
“I want to try and go for as long as I can.
“It’s been a rewarding experience to be able to do this for long, but I’d just like to get through tomorrow and see how we go from there.”