Troy Selwood had the ultimate respect from the AFL world
Head down, bum up and never ever take a backwards step: Troy Selwood had the ultimate respect from the AFL world for his on-field and off-field approach, write Jon Ralph and Josh Barnes.
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Troy Selwood played the game like every member of the Selwood family, which is the ultimate football compliment.
Head down, bum up and never ever take a backwards step.
His 75-game AFL career across eight seasons ended not atop his teammates’ shoulders in tribute, but in a hospital bed.
Brought back into the Brisbane Lions side for a farewell game in 2010, Selwood damaged his rib cartilage badly enough in a clash with Essendon’s Kyle Hardingham that he was in hospital until Tuesday.
The previous season, Selwood had been involved in a car-crash style head clash with Richmond’s Alex Rance where both players lost consciousness.
It was his latest worrying concussion and one that left Rance with a fractured eye socket, as neither player took their eyes off the ball.
His courage and sacrifice triggered a famous Lions comeback in that round 7, 2009 game, with coach Michael Voss saying: “When you see a commitment like that from one of your teammates, you can’t help but not want to let him down”.
The Bendigo-raised Selwood was a member of the famous footballing family that would eventually break the Danihers’ record for the most games played by a set of brothers.
Even though he never won the premiership that twin Adam secured at West Coast (2006) or reach the legendary heights of Geelong legend Joel, 36, he had the ultimate respect across the AFL.
The No.19 pick in the 2002 draft played most of his AFL career as a resolute tagger who rarely lit up the highlight reels.
But until his tragic death on Tuesday, his post-football career had him well on the way to an elite reputation fostering the next wave of AFL talent.
Joining Geelong’s VFL ranks in 2011 to captain a VFL premiership in 2012, Selwood retired and took on roles managing the club’s academy and reserves program.
He then moved into talent identification as master recruiter Stephen Wells’ protege from 2017, with those selections only now bearing fruit.
Always on the hunt for a left-field talent who might slip through the cracks, he roamed far and wide watching state league and country games.
He had a single zoom meeting with WA country kid Shannon Neale before Geelong swooped at pick 33, with the 203cm key forward keeping Tom Hawkins out of last year’s finals team.
Geelong traded up for athletics freak Max Holmes and snared crafty forward Brad Close in his time at the Cats before he moved to Collingwood for a short stint in 2021.
Selwood’s recruiting eye spotted long-sleeved premiership player Close from obscurity at SANFL club Glenelg.
He was so early spotting the forward that he had to help guide Close into getting a player manager before the Cats took him the 2019 rookie draft.
Close has missed just five games in the past four seasons.
Selwood was willing to do it all to work out potential recruits, even becoming a running partner around the Barwon River in Geelong for ruck prospect Paul Tsapatolis, spending hours building up the fitness of Category B prospect before the Cats signed him.
And it was Selwood who quietly held a zoom meeting with Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers in 2021, lighting a fire that had the swimmer seriously considering dropping the goggles for footy boots in Geelong.
“I think he made the right decision, but it was worth a try,” Selwood quipped on X when the meeting was revisited in November.
They were incredible times for the Selwood clan given he was working at the club where brothers Scott and Joel were also playing.
As he left Geelong for Collingwood in 2021, Selwood said being co-workers with brothers Scott and Joel was a highlight of his time in footy.
“Just working with my brothers was a real highlight,” he said in an article in 2021.
“I have been there for nearly all of Joel’s career to be honest, and to watch him grow as a person, a leader and a captain has been special, and also supporting ‘Scooter’ (Scott) at the club over the four years he was there.”
He returned from Collingwood to the city of Geelong quickly amid personal circumstances but he quickly found a role as Geelong Grammar’s head of football.
Geelong Grammar’s Sam Lalor went at No.1 in November’s national draft, while Lou-Lou Field found her way to Carlton in December’s 2024 national draft.
As recently as Saturday, Selwood was telling friends how thrilled he was that Geelong Grammar’s Ollie Peake was part of the Australian cricket program in Sri Lanka.
Passionate about his students at Geelong Grammar, Selwood consistently pushed their achievements on social media.
When he first took on the job at the prestigious school as head of football and sports mentor he said it was a perfect fit for his love of development.
“I just love working with kids who really want to get the best out of themselves,” he said in 2022.
“It’s a really nice fit for me, and hopefully the school, which I’m excited about.”
At just 40, his path ahead in the AFL industry was not clear but he had the time and talent to make his mark in recruiting and talent like Wells before him.
Originally published as Troy Selwood had the ultimate respect from the AFL world
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