Terry Willoughby

Western Border Football League umpire Terry Willoughby celebrates an amazing fifty year milestone as an umpire in 2017. Terry first took up the whistle when he joined the South Eastern Umpires association in 1967. He has umpired in all grades of football over three different leagues in that time and has taken charge of seven A grade grand finals.

It is some of those grand final’s that Terry cherishes as the best games he has been in control of, although he is reluctant to say one is better than another. The 1980 Kowree Naracoorte decider between Border Districts and Padthaway was responsible for a sensational last quarter where Padthaway were 33 points down with six minutes to go and won by 3 points. The 1989 Western Border grand final was also a great game where North Gambier came from behind to win by five points.

While these grand finals are exciting for the crowd, an umpire must remain detached from that sort of comeback and not get caught up in the momentum of the game. Close finals are always a highlight when you have umpired without being influenced by the game and the result of the game has been decided on its own merits.

Terry was manager of the South East Umpires League for ten years and stepped down in 2010 saying it was time for a new pair of eyes to watch over umpiring in South East football. Terry says the most important aspect of the umpire’s coach is to have the opportunity to foster and introduce young people to the job and help secure the future of football.

Some of the better players Terry has umpired over his fifty years include Naracoorte captain coach Lin Fielke, Robe champion Kym Smith and former Collingwood star Bill Picken from Hamilton. Terry admitted to feeling a little excited umpiring Phil Carman in a match he played for Edenhope. Of the modern day players Terry enjoys watching the skill and class of former North Gambier coach Justin McConnell.

Although Terry has umpired for fifty years and his son Garth has played over 400 games for North Gambier, their paths have rarely crossed on the football field. Terry estimates he may have umpired only four matches that Garth had played in and neither can remember the other being out there in those matches, although other Willoughby family members provided a certain amount of pre match heckling.