Umpire Inductee
NWFU/NTFL/TFL/SWL, Boundary/Field Umpire, 1980-2000
> 382 senior games officiated
> NWFU/NTFL 1980-88, TFL/SWL 1989-2000
> Eight senior Grand Finals officiated 1981-84, 1986, 1988 (NWFU/NTFL) 1996, 1997 (TFL)
> Umpire Coach (TFL/NWUA) 1999-2001
> 18 years as North-West Umpires Association committee member
> NWUA Life Member 1996
> Tasmanian Football Hall of Fame Inductee 2005
One of the longest serving umpires on the North-West coast, Greg Wilson overcame local parochialism to become one of the best and most respected umpires in the state during the 1980’s and 90’s. Beginning as a boundary umpire in the NWFU in 1980, Wilson officiated in five senior grand finals in his first seven years, and became one of the very few boundary umpires to be awarded the D.J. “Joff” Eastly Trophy as North-West Umpires Association Best Umpire in 1984. After making the switch to field umpiring after the 1987 season and officiating the 1988 NTFL Grand Final in that capacity, Wilson made the controversial decision to switch to the TFL competition the following year, a move which, given the deep divide between the NTFL and TFL at the time, ostracized him from the NWUA. Regardless, Wilson went on to become a mainstay of Statewide football umpiring throughout the 1990’s, winning the Golden Whistle award (the TFL equivalent of the ‘Rising Star’) in 1989. Wilson would umpire six TFL Grand Finals (two senior, two reserves and two U/19) during the decade; these included the back-to-back Burnie v Clarence senior deciders in 1996-97, the latter being the year he won his second “Joff” Eastly Trophy. 1997 also saw Wilson officiate his only interstate match in the famous Tasmanian victory over Western Australia at North Hobart Oval, a highlight of his career. In 1999 he was appointed as State League umpires Coach, and retired from umpiring after the final State Wide League season in 2000 after officiating in 177 senior TFL matches and 382 senior matches overall. Throughout his career he maintained a position as an NWUA committee member, including 12 years as treasurer.
