Joel Selwood

Joel Anthony Selwood (born 26 May 1988) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Geelong Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

He is a quadruple premiership player (including one time as captain), a six-time All-Australian, and a three-time captain of the All-Australian team.

Joel Selwood was born on 26 May 1988 to Bryce and Maree Selwood in the country city of Bendigo, Victoria.

He was raised in a family of sportspeople.

His mother Maree was a top runner and tennis player, and elder twins Adam and Troy were identified as talented footballers at a young age.

As a two-year-old, Selwood was forced to wear splints on his leg to help overcome a walking disability.

Selwood displayed athletic talent from an early age.

He was the state hurdling champion from under-10s through to the under-15s, and in one year held every running and jumping record at the Bendigo Sports Centre except the 100 metres sprint.

Growing up with his older brothers, Selwood was accustomed to playing with bigger teammates and opponents.

By age eight, he played his first competitive game of football, against children four years his senior, and kicked three goals.

Selwood attended Catholic College Bendigo.

After starting out with St Therese's Maroon, he played most of his junior football with the Sandhurst Football Club until he was chosen to play for the Bendigo Pioneers in the TAC Cup competition throughout 2005.

Although his age made him ineligible to enter the 2005 AFL Draft, Selwood's accomplishments during the year led to AFL Talent Manager Kevin Sheehan rating him "the best 17-year-old in Australia".

Bendigo Pioneers regional manager Ray Byrne noted that "ability-wise, Joel was streets ahead of everyone. Even at an early age, he was a standout".

Byrne praised Selwood's professionalism, writing that he had "never seen a kid prepare in the TAC Cup like Joel [Selwood]. He had a fantastic football brain, he could sort it out within 10 minutes of a game who should be where and [doing] what".

Selwood received an array of accolades and honours as a bottom-aged player, winning mid-year State honours for Victoria Country in the AFL National Championships.

His performances in the championships earned him end-of-year under-18 All-Australian honours and the Most Valuable Player award for Victoria Country.

In addition, he was named in the TAC Cup Team of the Year, awarded a scholarship within the prestigious AIS-AFL Academy, and subsequently captained his older teammates in the annual under-18s International Rules Series in Ireland.

His performances in Ireland earned him the Ron Barassi Medal as the adjudicated Most Valuable Player of the tour.

A potential top pick in the 2006 AFL Draft, Selwood sustained a serious knee injury during his final year of junior football that caused him to fall to Geelong's first pick at seventh overall.

Selwood's achievements in local football were recognised when he was listed as a finalist in the 2006 Bendigo Sports Star of the Year Award.

Returning in 2006 to the Pioneers, Selwood entered his final year of junior football as one of the top-rated prospects in his age group.

His achievements at the junior level were recognised early by the AFL Players Association when he was awarded the Mike Fitzpatrick Scholarship and the AFL Life Members Education Fund Award.

Rewarded with the captaincy of Bendigo for his final season, Selwood again won mid-year State honours for Victoria Country.

However, he suffered a knee injury that occurred only six rounds into the competition, forcing him to undergo surgery.

It was his fourth knee operation within two years, and it prematurely ended his season.

Selwood was drafted by the Geelong Football Club with their first selection, and was the seventh overall draft pick in the 2006 AFL Draft.

Selwood made his AFL debut in 2007, winning the AFL Rising Star Award and AFLPA Best First-Year Player Award.

He set a VFL/AFL record with a 92% winning percentage in his first 50 games (46–4), and he was a member of three premiership teams with Geelong in his first five seasons (2007, 2009, and 2011), the last of which as vice-captain.

Selwood captained Geelong between 2012 and 2022, is the club's games record holder, has won the Carji Greeves Medal three times as their best and fairest player, and holds the record for longest-serving captain in the AFL.

A standout junior track and field athlete and footballer, Selwood entered top-level football early, joining the TAC Cup competition as a bottom-aged player.

His accomplishments as a junior included Most Valuable Player awards at state and international levels, and he earned selection in the under-18 All-Australian and TAC Cup Team of the Year sides as a junior.

With Selwood made captain of the team in 2012, Geelong made the finals in all but one season during his tenure, playing in seven preliminary finals and two Grand Finals—culminating in Geelong's tenth premiership in 2022, after which Selwood retired.

Selwood has been recognized for his leadership abilities, his high levels of courage, and his consistency throughout most of his career.

He was appointed captain at just 23 years old, and he has won the AFLPA Best Captain Award.

He is a four-time recipient of the AFLPA Robert Rose Most Courageous Player Award.

He has played in 20 games every full season of his career, and averaged over 24 disposals per game over his career, including at least 20 disposals in every full season except his debut year.

He polled double-digit Brownlow votes for 11 consecutive seasons, including 27 votes in 2013 when he was runner-up for the award.

Selwood excelled at breaking tackles and earning free kicks, although his methods of drawing free kicks were a constant source of annoyance to critics throughout his career.

He also averaged about five tackles per game and has the second-most tackles in VFL/AFL history behind Scott Pendlebury.