After being delisted by Carlton at the end of the 2009 season, Bannister had his first hit-out as an official at the Western Bulldogs intra-club practice match at Whitten Oval on Saturday.
While most of the buzz from the 1000-strong crowd centred on new Bulldog Barry Hall, Bannister said umpiring an AFL level match as his first game was a daunting prospect.
But to his relief, the reception from players including former opponents was overwhelmingly positive.
“They were pretty supportive, actually,” Bannister told afl.com.au after the game.
“Lindsay Gilbee came over and shook everyone’s hand at the end and a few of the boys out there wished me all the best. It’s been good, I got a lot of support off a few of my mates at other clubs and everyone’s been pretty positive.”
Bannister shadowed last year’s AFL grand final umpire Shaun Ryan for much of the first half and took control as the game progressed. He said having played at AFL level had advantages, but it took a certain type of player to become an umpire.
“A lot of players have a feel for the game but I think if they can try and grasp the positioning - as I’m trying to at the moment - and just getting to the right spots,” he said.
“A lot of players are probably not suited to it, the bigger type players. There’s a lot of running the umpires do. I’ve never met a bunch of fitter guys in my life.”
Bannister’s playing experience as a tagger is proving to be of benefit to training and match fitness. But a work ethic and attitude developed as a fringe player who constantly worked for his spot in the team may be his greatest asset.
“Coming into umpiring, you’ve just got to know that you’ll probably have a few setbacks but you’ve just got to keep going and going,” he said.
“I’m doing something completely new and it’s pretty challenging and you’ve just got to have the attitude of keep going, ask advice, listen to everyone and just really back yourself.”
Bannister registered his interest with umpires boss Jeff Gieschen after a nine-year playing career with Essendon and the Blues. He joins the player to umpire pathway academy alongside former Essendon rookie Scott Howard.
The pathway program involves umpiring a season at local level, before entering the VFL for a year, and potentially stepping into the AFL the following year.
The path was previously trod by former Collingwood and Essendon player Mark Fraser, who umpired five AFL matches before a hip injury forced his retirement in 2006.
