By Jonty Ralphsmith
Ellinbank legend Bruce Pratt celebrated his 1000th game involved in local football on Saturday in the Eagles Reserve’s clash with Catani.
A life member at the Ellinbank Football Club, Pratt played 415 games in a career spanning 44 years, and has also umpired 585 games since 1999.
Currently a member of the South Gippsland Umpiring Association, which predominantly officiates the West Gippsland Football Netball Competition, Pratt was granted the opportunity to bring up the milestone at his home club.
“I was essentially at Ellinbank as a life member volunteering to field-umpire on the day which I was thankful I got the opportunity to do,” Pratt explained.
On a week-to-week basis, Pratt is umpiring two games per week: field umpire for a junior game and goal umpire for a senior game, the intensity of senior field umpiring becoming too much on his body nine years ago.
Outside of occasional cameos, Pratt’s career at Ellinbank concluded in 1996, when he stepped into field umpiring.
“I still wanted to be involved so considered what the next step could be with the body unable to take big knocks and hits, so I joined the local Gippsland Umpiring Association panel at Drouin” Pratt said.
He has since moved across to the South Gippy Umpiring Association, officiating Ellinbank, West Gippy and La Trobe Valley games across the journey.
“I never thought I would get to the stage where I have umpired more games than I have played so the body is holding up not too bad,” he added.
“When you were playing you always had to keep your eyes on the ball but now you’re an umpire you have to keep your eye on the play to see if there are indiscretions they’re doing before they get it.
“It’s a different perspective which was a really big change.
“I still identify as being a player – when I’m not umpiring I’m critiquing ‘why did he do this’; ‘he should have done that’ so I still have that player mentality more than the umpiring mentality but when you cross the line you know you’re carrying the whistle and blowing it, I’m not in the receiving end so you switch into umpiring mode.”
Pratt praised the respect he’s felt across the competitions he has officiated, also highlighting the different skillset involved in goal umpiring.
“People think goal umpiring is cushy but it’s not because so much relies on us getting the right score,” Pratt highlighted.
“We have the final say on the score so you have to be paying attention.
“Positioning in our work zone behind the goals is something else our coach is very strong on and everything has to be done in sequence; you have to be in unison with the person at the other end.”
Ellinbank won by 119 points in the milestone match, with Pratt set to resume his normal post in the WGFNC this Saturday.
ACHIEVEMENTS
PLAYER
212 senior games
106 reserves games
97 junior games
Senior best and fairest 1978
League leading goal kicker 1979-80
Senior premierships: 1984 and 1988
UMPIRE
Senior field grand final 2011
Senior goal grand final 2016
8 reserves grand finals
7 junior field grand finals
