Senior umpire and East Kimberley Football League president Wayne Paul officially umpired his 1000th football match last weekend, a milestone that coincided with the East Kimberley Football League Grand Final.

Wayne moved to Kununurra as a player in 1999, where he quickly realised there was a shortage of umpires and a lack of a league president in the East Kimberley Football League. He has filled both roles ever since. Now, after 1,000 games, Wayne’s umpiring journey has taken him all over Western Australia, covering much of the Kimberley region and even beyond.

"It's a lot of hard work. I do five games a week, sometimes three games a day," said Paul. "You can umpire in Kununurra and have your next game in Halls Creek so you're doing 700 km round trips and 12-hour days."

Despite the physical demands, Paul says the quality of football in the region makes it all worthwhile.

“We’ve had some really good footy in the Kimberley. I’ve umpired Samo Seton, Shane McAdam, Jy Farrar, and Francis Watson all of them have gone on to play AFL. I just look at that and think, that’s a part of my history.”

There is still a shortage of umpires and officials in the East Kimberley Football League. Wayne is often still the lead official for up to three games a day.

"I'm still needed out of necessity, 'cause we just don’t have the umpires. It's hard yakka. I've had to run three games in a row all by myself because people can't turn up."

So what keeps him going after more than two decades?

"I just love the game," said Paul. "And these kids there’s nothing else for them. Every year when we have footy, crime drops. These kids turn up and all they want to do is play footy. You see the passion, you see the talent, and I just want to give these kids a chance to play AFL."

Wayne is one of the very few umpires in history to reach 1,000 games.

As for the Grand Final itself, the Waringarri Crows defeated the Ord River Magpies by 26 points to be crowned Premiers for the 2025 season. Melvin Tataya from the Crows was named Best on Ground..

In the Women’s Grand Final, the Ord River Magpies defeated the Wyndham Crocs by a narrow 3 points, with Zarah Sankoh of the Magpies taking out Best on Ground honours.