Is this goodbye? Were those the tears of a champion’s farewell?
Joel Selwood’s future in footy will now become a point of contention for everyone but the man himself. For Selwood, the triumphant Geelong captain, nothing could matter more than the present.
Had Saturday never happened, Selwood could have comfortably ended his career with a lifetime’s worth of special memories, moments he has given us and the game has given back to him.
Three premierships already, the first a whole 15 years ago as a rookie in this league. Any number of special finals wins, and a few heartbreaks thrown in there too.
So many of those vintage Joel Selwood games, when he would put his team on his back and lead them through the mire, always head-first and never once with a backwards step.
But for the Joel Selwood odyssey to truly be complete, Saturday September 24, 2022 had to happen.
A leader before he was old enough to legally drink, to captain Geelong to a premiership has long been Selwood’s destiny. Perhaps it was just the weight of the moment, the final fulfilment of a career’s work, that brought about those tears.
On grand final day, he was titanic again. Selwood was the best player afield in the first quarter — better even than the incredible Isaac Smith or relentless Patrick Dangerfield — setting the scene for the bloodbath to follow.
He had done the same earlier this month, when he produced one of the best games of his career in that frantic, fantastic qualifying final against Collingwood.
When Geelong need him most — like, now or never, holding out for a hero time — Selwood always delivers.
Selwood took a back seat for much of the rest of the game, playing his part but letting Dangerfield, Smith, Tyson Stengle and Brad Close enjoy their moments in the sun. Had it ever become close again, you can be sure Selwood would have re-emerged as the game’s dominant force. But it most certainly did not become close again.
Still, there was time for the fairytale moment.
It was a goal more befitting a 23-year-old Selwood, not the battle-weary 34-year-old that fronted up today. He sprung clear from the congestion, seemingly on the wrong side for a right footer and still under tackling pressure.
As soon as that audacious snap left his boot, the collective will of 100,000 fans at the MCG — hell, surely even the Swans fans relented for that one second — sucked that football home.
That goal sparked the tears. On the ground, as Selwood’s teammates mobbed their captain in an emotional embrace, and in the stands as the entire Selwood clan broke down in unison.
It was a moment that will go down in grand final folklore. And even those fans of opposition teams, who have found cold comfort in chipping Selwood for his knack of winning free kicks or a couple of moments of ill-discipline through 355 games of AFL footy, had to pause and recognise his greatness.
So the celebrations will stretch from Melbourne to Geelong and anywhere a Cats fan finds themselves, and only once they are complete should we concern ourselves with Selwood’s future.
We already know what a part of it will look like. Only weeks ago, Joel and wife Brit announced they are expecting their first child, alluding to the struggles and heartbreak they have overcome to reach that milestone.
Joel Selwood’s future will be spent as a father. A new challenge to throw everything he has at and, if the touching images of him with Levi Ablett before the grand final are anything to go by, one he will excel at.
Will there be another season of football? Right now, does it really matter?
If this is goodbye, it has been perfect.
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