Already a footy lover, the 16-year-old's father, Brent, is a well-decorated umpire in the Ballarat region. Older brother Hamish debuted as a field umpire in the Ballarat Football Netball in 2019, aged just 16. This weekend, it all comes full circle. Damian will be a field umpire in just in his third BFNL seniors game in North Ballarat's clash against Darley with his brother and his father by his side for the first time. He is also part of the V/Line umpire academy and harbours ambitions of umpiring in the state league - a far cry from where he first learned the trade.

"I played footy as well and did a bit of boundary umpiring with the Ballarat Swans and quite enjoyed that. So when I saw my brother and Dad (umpiring), I thought, 'yeah, I can do that too'," Damian said. Hamish Irvin began umpiring in 2017 and debuted as a field umpire in the BFNL seniors in 2019. In total he's officiated 130 games with the BFUA, 86 those as a field umpire. After moving to Geelong last year to study, he travelled to continue to umpire in Ballarat. However, this year he has been in the middle for Geelong Football League seniors matches.

Father Brent began with the BFNL in 1990, firstly as a boundary umpire. He graduated through the ranks as a field umpire in the TAC Cup and the AFL reserves. He returned to Ballarat and came back to umpiring at the local level once Hamish began running the boundary. "It's obviously a proud moment for us all and my wife as well. We're pretty proud of the achievement the boys have been able to make," Brent said.