Joel Selwood returns to GMHBA Stadium as Melbourne Storm prepares for NRL season

Retired Cats legend Joel Selwood has made his return to GMHBA Stadium, albeit in different colours, as the Melbourne Storm prepares for the NRL season to begin.

26-01-2023 Melbourne Storm training at GMHBA Stadium, Geelong. Joel Selwood. Picture: Brad Fleet

JOEL Selwood has not been at the Melbourne Storm for very long, but the Cats legend is already having an impact in the purple as the rugby league powerhouse spent Thursday morning training at GMHBA Stadium.

The recently retired skipper is used to leading his teammates through training drills on the Geelong surface, but his return to his professional home was spent carrying drinks and assisting with drills as the Storm squad prepares for the upcoming NRL season.

Selwood joined the Storm as a development coach at the end of his playing days in Geelong and has worked closely alongside former Storm legend Billy Slater at the club.

The recently retired skipper is used to leading his teammates through training drills on the Geelong surface, but his return to his professional home was spent carrying drinks and assisting with drills as the Storm squad prepares for the upcoming NRL season. Picture: Brad Fleet

Storm winger Xavier Coates said Selwood was already having a “massive impact” at the club.

“It’s great to hear Joel’s side of the story and the AFL perspective, but having both Billy and Joel around the club is great,” he said.

“He’s doing a fair bit for the club and he brings a real good leadership value to the club here.

“He brings a lot of traits, more so how you prepare yourself when you come to games, I think it’s fairly similar, NRL and AFL are both professional sports and he was a professional athlete.

“He brings a lot of knowledge around that, how to prepare for games, how to prepare for training, how to train.

Storm winger Dean Ieremia said he had “learned heaps” from the former Cat. Picture: Brad Fleet

“They (Geelong) were pretty successful last season in winning the cup, so to come here (to GMHBA Stadium) is a pretty cool experience.”

Storm winger Dean Ieremia said he had “learned heaps” from the former Cat.

“Joel has been amazing to have at the club,” he said.

“I know he comes from that AFL background but his mental side of things has been great, he has been awesome to learn from in terms of preparation and training.

“You really see his leadership when he’s around, he has the ability to inspire the young players to really work hard and get better.

“When you see him go about it, you really want to try to copy his traits and go about it in the same way.

Melbourne Storm will return to Geelong for a trial game in February. Picture: Brad Fleet

“He’s still trying to figure out rugby league, so I’ll help him out with that side of things, but he’s really strong on the mental side of things, he’s able to tell us stories on things he’s gone through and that carries over to the rugby league pretty easily too.”

Originally published as Joel Selwood returns to GMHBA Stadium as Melbourne Storm prepares for NRL season