ALL-AUSTRALIAN goal umpire Emilie Hill will be one of three women to officiate in Sunday's NAB AFLW Grand Final, the first time in League history that more than two female officials has been involved in the season decider.
Hill and Georgia Henderson will be the two goal umpires at Ikon Park on Sunday, while Greta Miller will be one of the four boundary umpires.
The three field umpires will be Joel Clamp, Matt Adams, Samuel Nippress while Adrian Pretorius, Jaco Jansen van Rensburg and Dominic Schiliro will join Miller on the boundary line.
Clamp, Pretorius and Hill were this week named All-Australian in their respective positions.
There have been just four women officiate in the six previous AFLW Grand Finals; goal umpire Tayla Manning in 2022 (S7), field umpire Jordyn Pearson in 2022 (S6) and field umpire Annie Mirabile and goal umpire Taylor Mattioli in 2018.
The match will be the 53rd at AFLW level for Miller, who is one of just three umpires to reach the 50-game milestone in the competition.
She was also an emergency field umpire for the 2019 Grand Final.
Hill said she was looking forward to the honour of umpiring the Grand Final, especially with her female colleagues.
"This week I've been reflecting back on the start of my umpiring journey where it was super uncommon to see a female umpire, and to now have four females involved on Sunday it's just amazing," she said.
"When I was younger I looked up to the likes of Chelsea Roffey, Sally Boud and Eleni Tee and it made me feel like anything was possible, so I hope on Sunday there are a few young girls that realise they too can reach the top level if they want.
"It's also extra special to be umpiring with Georgie as we've been friends even before she started umpiring, so it's been fantastic to watch her success over the years and share this special experience on Sunday together."
AFL's General Manager of Umpiring Lisa Lawry congratulated the umpires selected to officiate this weekend's AFLW Grand Final.
"It's a huge achievement and they should all be incredibly proud," Lawry said.
"It's wonderful to see three female umpires in the line-up for the first time in the competition's history and it's a testament to the hard work and dedication they have applied to their craft over a long period of time.
"The AFL continues to increase its level of investment to ensure we're developing the next generation of female umpires, and this is coming to fruition with female umpires making up 30 per cent of the AFLW list this season – doubled from last year."
The AFLW Grand Final Umpires
Field Umpires: Joel Clamp, Matt Adams, Samuel Nippress
Boundary Umpires: Adrian Pretorius, Jaco Jansen van Rensburg, Dominic Schiliro, Greta Miller
Goal Umpires: Emilie Hill, Georgia Henderson
Emergencies: Gabby Simmonds (field), Ryan Hickey (boundary), Jack Stammers (goal)