Incentive AFL great wants to become an umpire

St Kilda and Essendon great Brendon Goddard has backed calls for AFL umpiring to become a full-time job, making the extraordinary remark that he'd even consider picking up a whistle if the salary was significant enough.

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When asked on radio station RSN if he'd weigh up umpiring if he was met with up to a $200,000-a-year deal, Goddard said he would, while also making the clear point that umpiring as a career pathway would become much more appealing to teens if it was made a full-time gig.

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"I'd negotiate that ($200,000 salary)," Goddard said.

"It'd make it more appealing, right?

"I love the game and it's a really important part of the game, for mine.

"And the better, more experienced umpires - and I've been harsh on this - have a better feel, respectfully, for the game, because they've been there, they've experienced it. So I think it can only benefit.

"And it gives a pathway for other younger, aspiring umpires that are out there grinding each weekend at junior level ... They've got light at the end of the tunnel."

A total of 85 players in VFL/AFL history have taken up umpiring on the big stage.

The only former players still umpiring are ex-Richmond, Port Adelaide and Melbourne midfielder David Rodan, and former St Kilda defender Leigh Fisher.

Goddard was the No.1 pick in the 2002 national draft and went on to play 334 AFL matches with St Kilda and Essendon.

The Victorian won two All Australian blazers, in 2009 and 2010, and won Essendon's best-and-fairest gong in 2013.

Goddard was a defender and midfielder who developed a reputation as one of the fiercest competitors in the game.

He was sometimes seen roasting his own Essendon teammates on the field in the twilight years of his career.

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from WWOS https://wwos.nine.com.au/afl/news-2021-st-kilda-saints-essendon-bombers-brendon-goddard-umpiring/156d31d3-c6b4-4aa8-9279-8f729d3f335e