Warrnambool-raised AFL boundary umpire Kieran Ferguson aiming for AFL finals in 2023

Kieran Ferguson - preparing for his third season at the elite level - set an example for any Warrnambool and District Football Umpires Association members wanting to rise up the ranks with the pre-training cardio session.

Ferguson, 28, was in the south-west as part of an AFL Umpires roadshow.

"It's really good to come back and see all the young kids," he told The Standard.

"I remember having these roadshows come out to me and I knew some of the guys who were doing AFL so it's good to share that experience with these kids now and show them there is a pathway and also encourage some of the other guys to up-skill and get them prepared for the season ahead."

Ferguson, who lives and works in Melbourne, left Warrnambool when he graduated from Emmanuel College 10 years ago, determined to make a career with the whistle.

He worked his way up the ranks, officiating VFL and AFLW matches, before earning an AFL debut in 2021.

He now has 33 games to his name.

"It was always a goal of mine and I thought I'd try and give it a crack but it was about slowly progressing up the ranks and doing a bit better each time," Ferguson said.

"It was a goal and I had to keep working at it.

"I am pretty comfortable now. Through AFLW and things like that in the past it prepares you quite well.

"(I enjoy) just being out there every weekend on the big grounds and the big time.

"It's good to be a part of what you know everyone's watching at home on the TV."

The next goal is to be picked for a final but Ferguson, who trains up to six days a week, said it would be ambitious to tick it off in 2023.

"When you're quite young on the list you don't generally do many finals until you get more experience so it's usually at least three or four years in until you do finals," he said.

Ferguson, who is a pharmacist working in IT on clinical applications, said he liked to "hang out with my mates and do something fun on the big stage".

"We're mainly based in Victoria but we cover Tasmania a lot so I have done a little bit of travel," he said.

Ferguson was joined at the Warrnambool roadshow by field umpire John Howorth.

Howorth, 29, is preparing for his fifth season as a field umpire.

He has umpired 66 games and says it's a learning curve.

"I don't think I ever feel comfortable because there's always so much going on so I am constantly learning," he said.

"We have a new challenge this year with four umpires on the field not three so we're learning a new system. We'll adapt and move with the game because it's changing very quickly. The game is getting very fast and very technical."

Castlemaine-raised Howorth also came through the local system via the Bendigo association. The AFL season starts on March 16.

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