In the opening five rounds of the season, appointments were made so that the same three umpires were chosen in teams to, largely, help promote the development of the less-experienced umpires.
It also gave some of the rookie umpires a chance to experience the thrill of officiating in big games.
Six-time Grand Final umpire Brett Rosebury tells fellow umpire Stuart Wenn, in his piece in the AFL Record this week, that officiating with the same umpires has led to increased predictability and confidence in each other.
"It's enabled me to focus on the things that matter to delivering the best performance for the game rather than worrying about where my teammate is positioned or what he will do," Rosebury says.
