The day Chris Judd announced himself to the football world

CHRIS Judd had 46 three-vote games in his AFL career but it was a day he didn’t receive best-on-ground honours many remember most fondly.

THERE wasn’t often need to worry about the opposition during Brisbane’s reign of dominance in the early 2000s but coach Leigh Matthews felt it worthwhile to single out one player in his pre-game address before the Lions’ clash against West Coast in round 12, 2003.

Chris Judd, who announced his retirement today, had entered the competition with some fanfare as the third pick in the so-called 2001 super draft but despite finishing runner-up to Nick Riewoldt for the Rising Star Award was yet to really tear apart a game of AFL footy.

But Matthews had seen enough during Judd’s first 33 games to know he loomed as a dangerman in the Gabba clash between the top-ranked Lions and the third-placed Eagles.

“This kid is not any rookie,” Matthews told his veteran squad, who had won back-to-back premierships and would claim a third later that year. “He is going to be an absolute superstar.”

If Matthews’ men heard the message they appeared helpless to do anything about it as the young Eagles wizard put them to the sword.

“That was the best individual game I’ve ever seen anyone play in my era,” Eagles teammate Chad Fletcher recalled years later.

“There’d be four or five blokes scrambling for the footy and then you’d just see number three in a West Coast guernsey fly past and you’d find yourself just scrambling to shepherd anyone that’s trying to chase him and you’d hear the crowd erupt.”

Judd breaks away from another pack.

Judd put the Eagles in front early in the game with a set shot goal from 50m on the boundary and kicked five before half-time to almost single-handedly give his team a 48-point lead.

“Chris Judd is a wonderful player and it was probably, some say, the game where he burst onto the scene. I know he started his career extremely well but up against arguably the best team of the era at that time in Brisbane — we were up at the Gabba and some of those goals he kicked were just electrifying,” Andrew Embley said.

“I remember at the end of the game just walking off and thinking, ‘Wow, this kid has really got something.’”

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Defenders Darren Glass and David Wirrpanda said the Brisbane defenders — particularly the Scott brothers — didn’t appreciate being shown up by the flashy 19-year-old.

“The main thing I remember was the Brisbane players getting pretty filthy,” Glass said. “I think it may have been the Scott boys involved or a couple of pretty hard-nosed defenders down there. They weren’t too happy about it.”

Wirrpanda said: “His five goals were just unbelievable. I remember the Scott brothers running around trying to catch him and there were so many boys all having a go. He was just too quick.”

In a post-game interview on the ground, Judd showed the humility that would become one of his trademarks.

“Started off alright, quietened down in the second half but to come up here and have a win against the best team in the AFL is fantastic,” Judd said.

Judd didn’t add to his goal tally in the second half and was pipped by Ben Cousins — who had 35 disposals — for the three votes. But Matthews was glowing of Judd’s ability in his press conference.

“He got the ball in congestion, ran away from congestion and used the ball well — that is a remarkable skill,’’ Matthews said. “There are not too many players that can burst away from congestion and actually get yourself into space by pure leg speed.”

Originally published as The day Chris Judd announced himself to the football world