The AFL wishes to congratulate umpire Matt Stevic for reaching 50 AFL Finals this weekend.
Stevic is set to officiate his 50th final in the first Qualifying Final between Melbourne and the Sydney Swans at the MCG on Friday 2 September at the MCG.
He will become the first umpire to officiate 50 AFL Finals.
His current tally of 49 finals is the all-time record, with Brett Rosebury second on 47 finals.
Andrew Dillon, Executive General Manager Football Operations wrote a letter to Stevic, congratulating him on his remarkable achievement.
"At the highest level of our game, no other umpire has reached this milestone, and I hope your family and friends celebrate with gusto this weekend, and you all take a moment to look back on all that you have achieved," Dillon said.
"For the past decade, you have elevated yourself to the very pinnacle of our senior umpiring group, having umpired nine grand finals, including the last eight in a row which is also a record achieved by no others in the game.
"Good luck for the remainder of the year ahead, and well done again on a major milestone. I look forward to the chance to offer my congratulations in person when next we cross paths."
Stevic joined the AFL Umpiring panel in 2004 from the West Gippsland Umpires Association.
He's since umpired 447 AFL games – the fourth most behind Brett Rosebury (480), Hayden Kennedy (495) and Shane McInerney (502).
Stevic has umpired nine AFL Grand Finals, equal-second most with Brett Rosebury and Ian Robinson.
Stevic, Rosebury and Robinson trail Jack Elder, who officiated 10 VFL Grand Finals between 1906 and 1922.
Stevic umpired the 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021 AFL Grand Final.
His stretch of eight consecutive grand finals in a row is a VFL/AFL record.
He was also named All Australian umpire on eight separate occasions: 2012, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2021.