“We’re desperate, we need umpires,” Smith said.

“It’s getting to the point where we won’t be able to find umpires to do games.

“We’re short of goal, field and boundary umpires.”

Smith said the fact many young umpires were heading off to university was a big reason for the lack of numbers this year while “guys like myself are getting too old and retiring”.

University and old age aren’t the only reasons for depleted numbers though.

Smith said there was still a belief that umpires received abuse during games.

“That used to be the case,” he said.

“But the last six years it’s not.

“We’ve taken a zero tolerance to umpire abuse.

“If clubs find out its players have abused an umpire, even in a minor way, they will get fined and can even miss games.”

Umpires president Stuart Larcombe said the scope for problems to arise in football games without accredited umpires was huge.

“If (the AUL) isn’t able to provide an umpire it forces the league or club to provide its own from the sidelines,” Larcombe said.

“That can potentially cause huge problems.”

But Larcombe said in reality umpiring was an enjoyable, healthy and challenging experience.

“I really can’t understand why more people don’t give it a go,” he said.

“It’s fun, it keeps you fit, you get paid for it and at the end of the day you’ve got a great group of people to socialise with.”

Training for those who want to try umpiring is on at Noreuil Park every Tuesday and Thursday from 6pm to 7pm.