Glenn McFarlane: Adam Selwood death adds to a tragic year for football

From legends to those taken far too soon, football has been dealt unimaginable tragedy in the past 12 months. Glenn McFarlane pays tribute to those who have died but left a mark on the AFL landscape.

The football world, and the community as a whole, will collectively throw its arms around the Selwood family after a second unspeakable tragedy in three months added to what has already been a devastating year of loss for the game.

Adam Selwood’s shock death on Saturday follows on his twin Troy’s passing in early February – two heartbreaking losses not only for one of football’s most loved and respected families but also for the close-knit footy industry that has again been shaken to its core.

The year is only four and half months old, but already we have lost so many great footballers and so many great people connected to the game – for varying reasons – long before their time.

This is first and foremost a family tragedy, one that is deeply personal and extraordinarily hard to process.

Adam and Scott Selwood at their brother Troy’s funeral.

Adam Selwood died three months after his brother.

The Selwoods are football royalty, universally loved and respected, four inspiring young men who not only played at the highest level of the game, but who also worked on helping others get their chance to live out their dreams.

They were selfless, they were fearless. And it seems so cruel and unfair to have lost two of them so young – 102 days apart.

What was one of the game’s greatest success stories – four siblings unearthed from Victoria’s rich goldfields region of Bendigo who collectively played 786 AFL games, 34 more than the Daniher brothers – will now always be remembered with a sense of heartache.

The Selwood brothers after Adam’s success in the 2006 Grand Final.

As part of Adam and Troy’s legacy, and for the many others struggling – some of them silently – the game owes its past players and those connected to the sport to ensure there is even better support for them as they navigate their post-football career.

Our hearts go out to Adam’s wife Fiona, his children Lenny and Billie, to his parents Maree and Bryce, and to brothers Joel and Scott, as they deal with another devastating loss.

This is also a tragedy for those who have been touched by the Selwood family, a fact that was on display yesterday as the show went on in round 10 went on, albeit with extremely heavy hearts.

Robert Walls.

Ken Sheldon and Peter Bosustow.

West Coast has now lost two 2006 premiership players this year, with Adam’s death coming three and half months after Adam Hunter’s passing at 43.

Hunter died the day after Adam’s twin, Troy.

Those Eagles teammates who played with Adam paid tribute to him on Saturday, as they nursed their own sense of loss and pain.

Collingwood, where Scott Selwood is a highly-respected assistant coach, tried to keep Adam’s passing from its players as they prepared for Saturday’s early clash with Adelaide.

But the impact was there for everyone to see post-game as coach Craig McRae broke down in tears on Fox Footy after the match, and the Magpies players were ushered into the coaches’ room where many of them learnt the news.

Andrew Krakouer (right) died in March.

The loss this year of so many much loved past players long before their time – for varying reasons – puts all the other game-day narratives well and truly into perspective.

The Magpies lost Andrew Krakouer – who started his career with Richmond – to a heart attack in late March, aged only 42.

Carlton is still reeling from the recent deaths of two of its greatest players, Robert Walls and Peter Bosustow.

Walls used voluntary assisted dying laws on Thursday to end his life rather than undergo a second gruelling round of chemotherapy in his battle with a rare and aggressive blood cancer. He was 74.

Bosustow, 67, died after a long battle with cancer in late April, with a celebration of his life taking place just days before Walls’ passing.

Dale Tapping.

Michael Turner. Picture: Peter Ristevski

Chris Toce.

Hugely popular Essendon assistant coach Dale Tapping also lost his fight with myeloma in February, aged 59.

If you go back to late last year, the game also lost Geelong team of the century player Micheal Turner, 70, to pancreatic cancer, Richmond’s chief recruiter Chris Toce, 42, to cancer, and the Herald Sun lost one of its brightest stars, Sam Landsberger, aged 35, in a traffic accident. And last week marked one year since former Docker and Giant Cam McCarthy’s death at only 29.

We, and the game, are so much poorer for their loss.