The AFL today announced that Northern Blues (VFL) co-captain Andre Gianfagna would take up a position in the AFL’s ‘Player to Umpire Pathway Academy’, in a bid to win a position as a senior AFL list umpire.
 
Gianfagna, 25, has played 70 games for the Northern Blues and has served as the club’s co-captain for the last two season, after being previously listed at Melbourne in 2006 as a rookie player.
 
AFL Umpiring Director Jeff Gieschen said Gianfagna would join former Box Hill player Brent Wallace in the accelerated program, following on from current umpire Leigh Fisher, who previously played with St Kilda, and recent former senior umpires Jordan Bannister and Mark Fraser.
 
“Andre approached the AFL Umpiring Department to see if he could join the Umpiring Pathway program after watching the progress of Jordan Bannister and Leigh Fisher,” Gieschen said.
 
“Andre has an extensive playing background at state league level and, as a club captain, brings leadership to the program as well.
 
“He is an outstanding athlete and joins the program at a perfect age to give him an excellent chance of being successful.”
 
The AFL initiative of the ‘Player to Umpire Pathway’ was developed to establish a process for ex-players to move into umpiring, and Andre will begin umpiring at VAFA level and then progress from there, pending his development.
 
Recently-retired players have been sought by the AFL as potential umpires because they already had an understanding of elite sport, had already been able to achieve high levels of fitness and were used to the pressures associated with elite level sport.