No boundary for new umpire

By Lachlan Ellis

An aspiring young umpire from Bacchus Marsh has earned the opportunity to showcase his skill at a state football tournament, a great achievement in his four-year career.

Nineteen-year-old Solomon Miesen was named as one of ten boundary umpires from the West Talent Zone to take part in the V/Line Cup, Victoria’s premier Under 15s country football championship.

Mr Miesen said he was excited to showcase his talent, and hopes to follow in the footsteps of his father Paul, who was a VFL/AFL boundary umpire in the late 80s and early 90s and remains heavily involved with local umpiring.

“I was pretty excited to hear I’d be umpiring, I was meant to do it last year but the Cup got cancelled so that was sad. But I’m excited to showcase myself to all the observers,” Mr Miesen told the Moorabool News.

“I started umpiring in 2018 when one of my mates Oliver asked me to do it with him. As soon as I told Dad he got right behind it. It’s fun running around the boundary and just watching the game, especially when it’s a close game.”

When he’s older, Mr Miesen dreams of stepping out onto the hallowed turf of the MCG as an AFL umpire.

“I want to run on the MCG and all the big grounds across the country. Hopefully next year, with the V/Line Cup and being part of the accelerator squad, I’ll have a good chance to show off and make it onto the VFL list, and then the AFL list from there,” he said.

The V/Line Cup will take place between Monday 19 September and Tuesday 20 September in Shepparton, with 14 Boys teams (Division 1 and 2) and 7 Girls teams (Division 1 only) to take part.