Mark Fraser

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Mark Fraser (born 4 February 1971) is a former Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League and now an umpire in the same league.

Fraser, from Montmorency, Victoria, is the son of former Essendon Football Club champion Ken, who played 198 games over 11 seasons with them. Mark debuted with Collingwood in 1989 and played 14 games in his first season.

After 115 games with Collingwood, Fraser quit the club and was recruited by his father's former club, Essendon. He was played on the wing position but was only a depth player in his first 3 seasons at the club, and it wasn't until 1998 that he became a regular senior team member. In 1999 he continued his good form, which included a 27-disposal haul against Melbourne in Round 22.

2000 was Fraser's final year, and not being able to break into the premiership winning side saw him forced into retirement after 65 games with the Bombers, for a career total of 174.

[edit] Post-playing career

Fraser pursued a career in umpiring following his retirement and by 2003 had umpired in the Victorian Football League. ^[1] In 2004, Fraser was brought onto the AFL umpires' rookie list, and debuted in a Wizard Cup match in 2005.

Fraser became the 45th player in the VFL/AFL to also officiate as an umpire on 7 May, 2005 at the Gabba when he umpired the Brisbane Lions v Western Bulldogs match. ^[2] He was praised by umpires coach Jeff Gieschen for his "decision-making" but was criticised for his poor bouncing, which led to talk from coaches in the AFL looking at removing the centre bounce from the game. ^[3] Fraser umpired three matches during this stint and remained on the list for 2006, but was injured before Round 1.

[edit] References

1. ^ TXU VFL Record, Round 13, 2003 issue. Accessed November 15, 2006.
2. ^ Best in Both Worlds, AFL Umpires Association, accessed November 15, 2006.
3. ^ Bye bye to the Bounce, Karen Lyon, Melissa Ryan and Peter Blucher, The Age, May 24, 2005.