TOM PARRY
FOOTBALL
LVUA
BY TOM PARRY
A STALWART of the local football scene joined a prestigious club recently, officiating in his 1000th game of football as part of the Latrobe Valley Umpires Association.
Sale resident Robert Tatterson reached the milestone as a goal umpire in the Round 18 match of the Gippsland League between Morwell and Sale at Morwell Recreation Reserve.
The occasion was marked with Tatterson leading his fellow umpires onto the ground, before flipping the coin in the ceremonial toss between the two captains.
Following the match, he exited the ground to a guard-of-honour and was warmly met by members of his family – including his 92-year-old mother, Beth – who had travelled as far afield as Echuca and Yarrawonga for the event.
Tatterson was further honoured that evening with a dinner at the local bowls, where he got slightly emotional when speaking to the crowd.
“I had to stop, because a lot of the people… Don Wright and Ian Couchman, and Bob Thomas – they’re not here anymore,” Tatterson said.
“And, you think of them, and you think, ‘Well, they helped me along the way’…”
Tatterson credited all three men in mentoring him as an umpire.
It was Don Wright who first suggested to a 20-year-old ‘Tatto’ that he take-up umpiring back in 1981.
“He said, ‘Go down to the Sale football ground and talk to Ian Couchman,’ who was the umpires’ adviser,” Tatterson recalled.
“I went down there, and straight away (Couchman) took me out on the ground.
“I was dressed pretty much in street clothes, and I was running around the ground, and he’s telling me, ‘If this happens, you do this, you do that’.”
Tatterson spent another eight years with the Sale Umpires Association, taking part in “close to 250” games around the region – often as the sole official on the field.
In 1990, he made the transition to the Latrobe Valley Umpires Association on the suggestion of Bob Thomas.
Work commitments necessitated a move to East Gippsland in 2003, where he umpired 30-odd games for the local league, until returning to the Latrobe Valley’s association the following year.
In Tatterson’s time at the LVUA, he has officiated in four consecutive senior grand finals – three for the Mid Gippsland League (2004-06) and the fourth in the Gippsland League (2007).
He was also awarded life membership by the organisation in 1998.
His 1000-game achievement comes amid a litany of similar accolades in Gippsland.
Fellow LVUA official Steve ‘Budgie’ Buhagiar surpassed the milestone in early August, while Don Wight – not to be confused with the late Don Wright – notched up 1300 games for the organisation.
Meanwhile, Pete Perillo officiated his 1000th match for the Sale Umpires Association back in
May.
In reflecting upon his many years as an umpire, Tatterson also paid tribute to Buhagiar for allowing him the opportunity to oversee a senior grand final, and Peter Box for his mentorship
