Retiring AFL umpire ‘Razor’ Ray Chamberlain has been given a guard of honour by players from both Collingwood and Melbourne after his final game on Friday night.
After nearly 400 games officiating at the top level, the 47-year-old has blown his last whistle on an AFL ground.
WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Players pay tribute to retiring AFL umpire Ray Chamberlain,
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Players from both sides rushed to congratulate him with a handshake after the siren ended his career.
They then formed a guard of honour as he walked off the ground for the last time.
The charismatic umpire was nearly off the ground when Demons skipper Max Gawn stopped him and brought him back to offer one last handshake in what was a nice touch.
Chamberlain umpired three grand finals, including the draw in 2010, across a career that dates back to 2004.
“You say 20 years, for some it’s a lifetime and it feels like it’s gone in a minute,” he told Brian Taylor on Channel 7 before the game, before joking that he “probably might have had six good ones too”.
Chamberlain has long been the AFL umpire with the highest public profile, mostly due to his big personality and classic one-liners picked up on the umpires’ mics over the years.
For his last game, he was afforded the chance to choose who he umpired with.
“Yeah the coach was very good to me, he let me pick my crew,” Chamberlain said.
“You can’t do any of this on your own, and these guys have done so much for me over 20 years. I’m indebted to them and I’m really grateful to share tonight (with them).”
He added that the best part about his career in umpiring has been “mates”.
“Mates and experiences,” he said.
“Anything you do in life, it’s about connection, and these guys and girls are a cracking group.
“It’s an incredibly industry, and I’m just really appreciative of the way in which people within it have accepted me.
“(It’s been) challenging, and it challenges you as a person, but incredibly rewarding and I wouldn’t change one bit.
“And if anyone’s out there thinking about having a go, there’s a game for you somewhere to umpire, and I’d say take it up.”
If not already for obvious reasons, it will be a game Chamberlain won’t soon forget, with drama littered throughout the night.
Players and umpires retreated from the field with 10 minutes left in the last quarter when a lightning storm struck Melbourne.
The last quarter ran for an extraordinary 65 minutes after play was stopped for almost 40 minutes due to lightning.
Rain began falling heavily early in the fourth term, but a strong lightning flash nearby was a cause for concern for the AFL officials on the bench.
Play continued for a further five minutes until players were forced off with Collingwood 41 points ahead, before the Magpies eventually took out the match 15.13 (103) to 8.9 (57).
It was the second match at the MCG delayed by lightning this year, with Hawthorn and Geelong forced to the change rooms in the last quarter of their Easter Monday blockbuster.
The Demons have an uncanny knack of being involved in interrupted games, including a lightning strike against West Coast in 2021, and when the lights went out against Brisbane at the Gabba last year.
Collingwood superstar Nick Daicos likely earned himself another three votes on Brownlow Medal night, inspiring the Magpies to a 27-point lead at quarter-time.
The 21-year-old ran riot to finish with 40 possessions and two goals as Collingwood’s premiership defence came to an end in what was mostly a low-key dead-rubber.
Daicos might have already secured his first Brownlow Medal before Round 24, but this performance should keep him near the front of the count.
He is second favourite to claim the AFL’s highest individual honour, just behind Patrick Cripps.
However, Daicos is going to have some stiff competition from older brother Josh, who also collected 40 touches
Melbourne were already out of finals contention before the match started, while Collingwood were only a slight mathematical chance, having to smash the Demons by at least 100 points and rely on St Kilda shocking Carlton by a fanciful margin.
– With AAP