Paul Warmington

Many good footballers once retired from the game are encouraged to turn their hand to umpiring. Unfortunately very few do, they either become coaches or support their children through junior involvement. Those that do take up the whistle soon give it away because it was not as easy as they expected or simply they gave it a go and just didn’t enjoy it. One of the very few stand out examples is Paul Warmington, an example of a brilliant player becoming and even better umpire.

Paul, who is better known on the Eyre Peninsula and the West Coast as ‘Sheep’, began his junior football career in 1971 with Penong in the Far West league. He was still playing colts when Western United was formed in 1974 and was their captain and best and fairest in 1976. In 1977 Paul made his A grade debut for Western United and would go on to play 312 senior games for the Tigers.

The highlight of his playing career was to win the 1985 Mail Medal followed closely by being a member of Western United’s first premiership in 1980. Paul coached the Western United colts in 1988 and then took charge of the A grade in 1989 and 1990.

However Paul is best remembered for his outstanding representative career for Far West at Mortlock Shield and Interleague level. Paul first played for Far West in 1979 and would represent the league at Mortlock Shield a further seventeen times as a player with his final game in 1995. He was rewarded for his good form at Mortlock with selection in nine Eyre Peninsula combined sides from 1982-1989. Paul was a member of five successful Far West teams that were crowned Mortlock champions. He was named as Far West’s best player in 1985 and was awarded goal of the carnival in 1981. For his services as a player at Mortlock Shield, Paul was awarded life membership in 1994. Paul was not finished at Mortlock Shield though as he acted as Far West’s runner from 1996-1998.

In 1999, Paul took up umpiring and drew immediate approval from all involved with Far West football. So successful was Paul’s transition from player to umpire that he was nominated to represent the Far West league at the Mortlock Shield in his new role. He returned to playing briefly in 2000 but the lure of umpiring was too strong and he was back blowing the whistle again a few games into the season. Paul has continued as an umpire at Mortlock Shield and in 2017 officiated at his 19th carnival as an umpire and his 39th successive Mortlock Shield.

Widely regarded as one of the best umpires on the Eyre Peninsula and West Coast, Paul has umpired in sixteen grand finals. Among his umpiring highlights have been to umpire the City Vs Country game in 2013 which was a curtain raiser to an Adelaide Crows Vs Essendon match at Football Park. Officiating at the Zone Carnival in 2004, 2009, 2012 and 2014 were high points and despite umpiring at Mortlock Shield for 19 seasons he remains just as excited about the carnival as when he did it for the first time.

Paul’s son Myles represented Eyre Peninsula in 2006 at the Under 15 State Championships and 2007 & 2008 played in the Country Youth Championships. Now playing for Meningie, Myles has played representative zone football with Great Southern and Murray South East plus a few state country games. In 2014 Myles played one game for the Adelaide Crows development team in the SANFL.

Apart from being a champion footballer, champion umpire and an all round good bloke, Paul is very much a community minded person and was a volunteer ambulance officer for 15 years. In 2008 Paul was presented with the Ceduna Districts Citizen of the Year for his volunteer work. Sadly his two passions crossed paths when a Ceduna Blues player suffered heart failure during a match with Western United in which Paul was umpiring. Paul desperately tried to revive the man but tragically he passed away on the field.

Paul has also been a strong supporter of junior football and has been team manager of the Eyre Peninsula under 17 team from 2006 to 2017. Besides receiving life membership as a player at Mortlock Shield, Paul has also been awarded life membership with the Western United Football Club (2012), Far West Football League (2012) and Port Adelaide under 15’s Cup (2013). Paul Warmington has given a lifetime of outstanding contribution as a player and umpire over more than four decades at the highest levels in country football.