AFL pick umpire once suspended for betting

Goal umpire Chris Appleton will make his AFL grand final debut, four years after he was suspended for placing bets totalling $60 on the 2009 grand final.

A goal umpire once suspended for betting and a field umpire who has made a remarkable health comeback will officiate in Saturday's AFL grand final.

Goal umpire Chris Appleton was stood down in May 2010 for the rest of that season after he was caught in an AFL betting investigation.

He placed four bets worth a total of $60 on the 2009 grand final between Geelong and St Kilda - a game in which he did not stand.

The league said at the time that Appleton had co-operated fully once the bets were revealed.

He was among six AFL and club officials at the time who were hit with a range of penalties for placing bets.

Appleton has umpired 185 AFL matches, including 15 finals, and this will be his grand final debut.

The field umpires for the Sydney-Hawthorn grand final will be Simon Meredith, Matthew Nicholls and Matt Stevic.

Meredith thought his umpiring career might be over when he suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage - a bleed on the brain - after officiating at the round 13 game between Port Adelaide and Sydney.

He returned in round 21 and did enough for his third straight grand final selection.

"At times I thought I pretty much won't umpire again, let alone get back to the AFL level and have a chance of running out with these guys on Saturday," Meredith said at Tuesday's announcement of the grand final umpires.

"It was pretty scary when it happened," Meredith said.

"It was good to get back home first and foremost and see the wife and kids and get my health back."

Stevic umpired the 2012 grand final and Nicholls had the honour for the first time last year.


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