Gentleman Mal’s 700th Friends, sausage rolls and the grand final streaker

By CHRIS EARL

UMPIRING in the North Central Football League with Mal Burge can be like traveling with the Pope.

People line up to pay homage as soon as he enters the ground, Mal stops and has a chat with everyone, says Max Higgs of the farmer from Woosang who on Saturday will have whistle in hand for his 700th game.

Max says of his good friend that it’s even worse at the end of the day when you want to get home - Mal is always on for a chat with players, officials and supporters of opposing clubs while indulging in the repast laid out on tables in country football rooms.

Mal Burge has had a reputation for being the gentleman of umpiring ever since he switched from being a defender with Wedderburn to a man in white back in 1991.

“I wanted to do something to stay fit and I still loved football. So I spoke with Peter McHugh and Ian Jackson and decided to give it a go,” he said.

“And it gave me a break on Saturday afternoons from farming,” said Mal who now lives in Wedderburn but still runs the 1100-hectare farm with brother-in-law Brian Dickson.

Mal’s love of football was nurtured over more than 200 games with the Redbacks’ reserves.

“I played mainly full-back ... enjoyed that position and if I could hold the fullforward to three or four goals I think I was going okay. Of course, things didn’t always happen that way,” he said.

“And enjoyment, I have found though even more as an umpire, especially in North Central league matches.”

A life member of the now disbandedNorth Central umpires’ group, Mal has taken the field in the Loddon Valley and former Mallee leagues.

His special affinity with Southern Mallee clubs and Nullawil in particular, meant naming where he would officiate for game No 700 was easy.

“There were always good times at Nullawil and when they joined the North Central league this year I was happy about that,” Mal said.

“They are great people up there, a great part of the Mallee and it’s good to see the team doing well in the North Central league since coming in this season.

“This Saturday I’ll get to umpire Charlton and Nullawil. Max Higgs was to have been my partner but he got the dates mixed up and is away working up north. Instead, it will be with another great Loddon umpire Richard Hicks.”

Mal Burge is also part of local football folklore, officiating at four senior grand finals and numerous reserve grade deciders.

As Max Higgs recounts, Mal is regarded as the only Aussie Rules umpire to have chased a streaker in a grand final and then have a horse named after him.

“He didn’t catch him and the horse Coulddowitharain was not much good,” says Max.

While Mal has experienced, and enjoyed, the pressure from raucous crowds when grand finals have gone into extra time, he’s more circumspect about the pressure umpires face when reporting a player.

“That takes courage under pressure. But the players have generally been pretty good and only rarely have I had to report anyone,” he said.

Now 65, Mal hopes to have a few more years running around in the umpire’s livery that is now a distinctive olive colour.

He says former players can make excellent umpires with their knowledge of the game and fitness.

“Perhaps a few more will make the move across when they retire.”

He says the North Central league is one of the most harmonious around and “come 5 o’clock we can all relax in the room for a few beers”.

And he says injuries are uncommon for umpires. “I did miss a few games when an old hamstring injury flared.”

The umpire coterie is renowned for a banter that they prefer to call encouragement and support.

Mal says coach Dean Goodridge, himself a North Central life member, has been a great mentor. Goodridge reciprocates the praise for Mal’s endurance and contribution over more than 30 years.

It’s left to Max Higgs to spill the beans on Mal’s training route. “Doesn’t believe in over-training. Notoriously difficult to get him to training, then even harder to get him home. Likes to talk to at least 15 different people after training, have a can of Coke and devour two sausage rolls.

“If hassled to leave early, strews crumbs and sauce over car seats. Is also partial to a Hungry Jacks value meal and a Crown Lager on the trip home from training - leaves his wrappers and empties on the passenger seat floor,” comes flying more of the banter that Mal says is healthy.

Then the tone turns a little more serious: “All umpires make mistakes, have bad days and cop plenty of advice from both sides of the fence. Mal is no different in that respect, but I’ve never known a player, official or supporter to doubt his integrity or, at the end of the game, treat him with anything other than respect and affection. He’s earned that,” says Max.

Mal hasn’t confined himself to just the farm and football.

All year round, he’s on call as a member of the Woosang Fire Brigade and still turns up on a Saturday afternoon in summer swinging a tennis racquet.

Back at the farm, he says breeding Merinos is his greatest love on the land. “I’m not as keen on cropping.”

And over the years, he has picked more than a few prizes for fleeces in agricultural show competitions.

Mal says the day will come when has has to make the decision to hang up the whistle. “That will be a tough decision to make and I will miss umpiring enormously ... it’s been a big part of my life and made possible thanks to the support of my wife Leanne.”

Ahead of game 700, Mal Burge has started receiving accolades for the achievement.

The one from friend Max Higgs perhaps says it all: “The best thing to come out of Woosang. A gentleman. Loves the game. Part of the heart and soul of country footy. A better person than most of us.”

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