Mathew Nicholls (born 1977) is an

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an Australian rules football playing field, oval field, often a modified ...

field umpire in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the pre-eminent professional sports, professional competition of Australian rules football. It was originally named the Victorian Football League (VFL) and was founded in 1896 as a breakaway competition ...

. He officiated in the

2013 AFL Grand Final The 2013 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between Hawthorn Football Club and Fremantle Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 28 September 2013. It concluded the 118th season of the Australian Football Le ...

and the

2014 AFL Grand Final The 2014 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Sydney Swans and the Hawthorn Football Club at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 27 September 2014. It was the 119th annual AFL Grand Final, grand final of the Au ...

. Nicholls was notably umpiring during the infamous Sirengate match between and in 2006, when play was allowed to continue after the final siren because the siren was too quiet for Nicholls to hear. Nicholls is also notably referred to as "the best bouncer in the business", by commentator Brian Taylor, a reference to his ability to produce a large centre bounce.

References

Australian Football League umpires Living people 1977 births 20th-century Australian sportsmen {{AFL-bio-1970s-stub