In Round 24 of the AFL season, history was made as Melissa Sambrooks, Greta Miller, and Kaitlin Barr became the first female boundary umpires to officiate an AFL game.
The trio all made their debuts in Round 24, as Miller and Sambrooks officiated on Thursday night at the Essendon versus Carlton game, while Barr took the field during the Adelaide versus North Melbourne clash on Saturday.
"It was thrilling and nerve-racking at the same time, but just incredible to be out there," said Sambrooks, who won the umpiring rising star at the AFLW awards in 2023. Since then, she has continued to climb up the ranks to reach this milestone.
Miller discussed her feelings post-match as well: "To run out in front of that crowd, the atmosphere was awesome, I don't think it really hit until the moment came."
Barr described her own debut as "a dream come true". She started umpiring in 2016 and has since umpired 36 AFLW Games, six AFLW Finals, and 44 VFL games.
AFL Executive General Manager of Football Operations, Laura Kane, congratulated all three women on behalf of the AFL.
"They earned this debut through hard work and dedication to their discipline across VFL and AFLW competitions," said Kane.
“To think footy has been around for 128 years and now we have our first trio of women boundary umpires in the AFL reflects how far we've come as an industry since the inception of the AFLW."
