Clare’s Emilie Hill Takes Out AFLW Umpiring Rising Star
From those frosty Clare Saturday mornings – bouncing between the netball courts and the footy oval- Emilie Hill’s love of footy looked a little different from most country kids. She didn’t want to take a screamer or kick the winner. She wanted to be right in the action, seeing the game from the best seat in the house.
That simple childhood love of the game has grown into something extraordinary, earning Emilie the 2025 AFLW Umpiring Rising Star award. Not bad for a country kid waving some sticks in an old white lab coat on the Clare oval.
The Moment That Sparked The Dream
Emilie can pinpoint the exact moment she realised umpiring could be for her.
It was the 2012 AFL Grand Final, and Australia was watching history unfold as Chelsea Roffey became the first woman to umpire the big dance.
“I never had the desire to play,” Emilie said. “I just loved watching footy. Seeing Chelsea out there was a really cool moment. She was the only woman umpiring in the AFL, and essentially she was better than most of the boys.”
That was the moment that sparked the dream.
Clare wasn’t exactly overflowing with budding goal umpires. So when Emilie stepped out in the iconic white umpiring coat, it turned a few heads.
When she headed off to boarding school at Loretto College, she didn’t leave the goal square behind. She kept training, kept learning and building her craft.
She was lucky enough to be able to interview the women who inspired her journey, Chelsea Roffey, as part of her year 12 research project – Women Breaking into Male Dominated Sports.
And fast forward to 2025, Emilie’s now moving in the same circles as Roffey. She’s living in Queensland, working as an audiologist, and is a rookie on the AFL goal umpire’s list.
At the recent AFL awards night in Melbourne, Emilie’s professionalism, improvement, and dedication were highlighted as key reasons for the Rising Star honour.
And while an AFL flag waving gig is the next big step – the country girl remains level headed. “I don’t like to set goals that are out of my control,” she said. “I just focus on umpiring consistently well and enjoying the ride.”
