Matt Stevic (born 12 November 1979) 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 ...

(AFL). He has umpired 499 career games in the AFL as of the end of 2024, which has him sitting currently equal third on the all-time games umpired list. Stevic was born in

Leongatha, Victoria Leongatha () is a town in the foothills of the Strzelecki Ranges, South Gippsland Shire, Victoria, Australia, located south-east of Melbourne. At the , Leongatha had a population of 5,869. Canadian dairy company Saputo which trades in Austr ...

. He made his debut umpiring his first match in the AFL in Round 1, 2004, between the

Western Bulldogs The Western Bulldogs are a professional Australian rules football club based in the Melbourne suburb of Footscray. The club competes in the Australian Football League (AFL), the sport's premier competition. Originally named the Footscray F ...

and the

West Coast Eagles The West Coast Eagles are a professional Australian rules football club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club was founded in 1986 and first competed in 1987 as one of two expansion teams in the Australian Football League (AFL), then known ...

at the

Telstra Dome Docklands Stadium, known by naming rights sponsorship as Marvel Stadium, is a multi-purpose sports and entertainment stadium in the suburb of Docklands in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Construction started in October 1997 and was completed ...

, and he has since umpired internationally. He used to teach physical education, business management and geography at secondary schools, including Melbourne Grammar, Scotch College and

Xavier College Xavier College is a Roman Catholic, day and boarding school predominantly for boys, founded in 1872 by the Society of Jesus, with its main campus located in Kew, an eastern suburb of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Classes started in 1878. The ...

. Stevic has umpired in a record twelve grand finals. Stevic umpired his first grand final alongside Brett Rosebury and Simon Meredith, which was the

2012 AFL Grand Final The 2012 AFL Grand Final was an Australian rules football game contested between the Hawthorn Football Club and the Sydney Swans at the Melbourne Cricket Ground on 29 September 2012. It was the 117th annual AFL Grand Final, grand final of the Au ...

; after not being selected in 2013, he umpired in every grand final from

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

until

2024 The year saw the list of ongoing armed conflicts, continuation of major armed conflicts, including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the Myanmar civil war (2021–present), Myanmar civil war, the Sudanese civil war (2023–present), Sudane ...

. Since the 2023 grand final, his eleventh, he has held the outright record for most VFL/AFL grand finals umpired, surpassing the long-standing record held by Jack Elder. As of the end of the 2024 season, he has umpired a total of 60 finals matches in his career, also a VFL/AFL record. Stevic studied applied science (sport coaching and administration) at

Deakin University Deakin University is a public university in Victoria, Australia. Founded in 1974 with antecedent history since 1887, the university was named after Alfred Deakin, the second Prime Minister of Australia and a founding father of Australian Fede ...

with a major in sport coaching.

Footnotes

External links

Matt Stevic
at AFL Tables Australian Football League umpires Living people 1979 births People from Leongatha Deakin University alumni 20th-century Australian sportsmen {{AFL-bio-1970s-stub