The whisper that has paid off in roars
IT was only a week out from the 2006 AFL draft and the word filtered through to Stephen Wells that a Bendigo young gun might slip through to Geelong.
A knee injury had ruled Joel Selwood out for most of his top-age season, casting some doubt on his possible longevity in the game.
Selwood had been earmarked as a top pick until the season-ending setback and the talk in his home town for many years was he was the most talented of Bryce and Maree’s four sons.
Geelong’s first selection was No.7 and list manager Wells was prepared to take one of Selwood or Torquay kid Travis Boak.
Boak went to Port Adelaide with pick 5, leaving only Hawthorn to make a call before he had a chance to land Cats supporter Selwood.
“I was very confident Travis was going to get picked up where he did at Port . . . if Joel had have been picked and Travis was left, we would have been very happy to pick Travis,” Wells said.
“I remember as I walked out the door the morning of the draft . . . I said to my wife that if you hear we’ve got Joel Selwood, you’ll know we’ve got a good draft.”
Asked if there was a preference between the two if both were available, former cricketer Wells played a straight bat: “We didn’t have to make that choice.”
Selwood was the standout junior leading up to the 2006 season, his discipline and dedication making him a top prospect.
He had been touted as a future AFL captain, but the knee injury meant there would be no guarantees he would reach his potential.
“We spoke to everybody and anybody who we thought would be able to help us make a judgment on the knee,” Wells said.
“I do remember Nick Ames, who was one of our physiotherapists at the time, and the rest of the medical team saying there was no certainty his knee was going to come good, but they were confident they could help him with it.
“I imagine the fact he got to pick 7 in the draft meant there was enough doubt in some people’s minds at clubs, or even our club, that he was going to turn out as he has now.
“Clearly Joel, if he hadn’t been injured, and if there wasn’t some doubt, wouldn’t have got through to pick 7.”
It gets to a week out from the draft and word reaches Wells that Selwood might slide to Geelong.
Carlton (Bryce Gibbs), Essendon (Scott Gumbleton), North Melbourne (Lachie Hansen), Brisbane (Matthew Leuenberger), Port Adelaide (Boak) and Hawthorn (Mitch Thorp) each had a selection before the Cats.
The Cats would also select Nathan Djerrkura, Simon Hogan and Tom Hawkins as a father-son.
Wells made the drive to Bendigo for his first interview with Selwood only days before the November 25 draft.
“I just didn’t think he was going to get through to us with our pick and then all of a sudden you start hearing the way the draft might fall,” Wells said.
“I remember just saying, ‘Gee whiz, I better get up and have a talk to Joel because there is some chance he’s going to get through to us’.
“Joel was very confident that his knee was going to come good (and) our medical team had given us enough confidence that he would be a good pick for us.”
The same attributes — competitiveness, ruthlessness and leadership — that have made Selwood an all-time great were on display in the mid-2000s and have been the cornerstone of his illustrious career.
There may have been some doubt when he arrived, but there can be no question of his standing in the game.
“I don’t think too many people would be surprised he’s turned out the way he has,” Wells said.
“His longevity, the accolades that have come his way, the person he is around our club, more importantly, Joel should be proud of that.”
“I don’t think too many people would be surprised he’s turned out the way he has.”
– CATS LIST MANAGER STEPHEN WELLS