When Adam Selwood announced his retirement from football at the end of the 2013 season, he said modestly that he would like to be remembered as a “solid role player”.
“I never really wanted too many accolades to play the game,” he said. “It was more achieving success as a team.”
Adam Selwood and with West Coast teammate Dean Cox in 2007.Credit: Sebastian Costanzo
But according to those who were close to Selwood at West Coast, he was much more than a role player. The long-serving Eagles CEO Trevor Nisbett, one of the many people struggling to come to terms with the sudden death of the 41-year-old on Saturday, said Selwood was indispensable – his character valued so highly that the club ensured he would continue to work for them in a development role after he finished playing.
Selwood was a “heart and soul player and one of the great club people”, Nisbett said.
When the Eagles were dealing with a cultural problem involving drug use within the playing group in the period after the 2006 premiership, Selwood (who was only 22 when he played in that flag) was among those who led the club’s response and repair of that culture.
“[He was a] wonderful family guy, just [an] unbelievable person,” said Nisbett, who was chief executive of the Eagles for nearly a quarter of a century.
“We kept him on [after his retirement] because of his quality as a person.
“He was responsible for setting up our women’s program as well.”
Selwood was renowned as one of the straight arrows in a group that had multiple players using or abusing illicit drugs, and Nisbett explained that he indicated at the time that he would have left the Eagles if they had not addressed their cultural issues.
“He would have insisted on going unless we did what we did. He was part of the re-group… He insisted,” Nisbett said.
The impact of Selwood’s death could not be overstated.
On the Selwood family, who are now dealing with the unfathomable loss of twins Troy and Adam within three months.
On the clubs that Troy and Adam, and their brothers Joel and Scott, played and worked for. Collingwood coach Craig McRae broke down and had to walk away from a post-match interview on Fox Footy on Saturday as he talked about the power of family in the AFL. Scott Selwood is an assistant coach with the Pies.
And across the AFL community. The Selwood brothers were highly regarded as players wherever they went, and the family’s connections run deep in the game.
Adam was drafted at pick No.53 in the 2002 national draft, the same draft in which his twin brother Troy was selected by the Lions.
Steve Woodhouse, football manager for most of Selwood’s playing days, described him as the most dependable of players, who “always had a smile on his face”, loved to compete and did whatever the team needed.
“He was just a great teammate, a wonderful family man, whatever job he was going to do, he always did,” said Woodhouse, whose brother and recruiting manager, Trevor Woodhouse, drafted Selwood.
“He never left anything out on the ground. You could always rely on him.”
Selwood made his debut late in his first season and played in an elimination final in his second match.
He was a consistent performer under John Worsfold in 2005 and returned from a late-season injury to play in a preliminary final and then the losing grand final against the Swans, a classic.
Adam Selwood, Andrew Embley and John Worsforld were key figures in the Eagles’ 2006 premiership.Credit: Getty Images
Selwood played in every match of the Eagles’ 2006 premiership season, alongside such stars as Ben Cousins, Chris Judd, Daniel Kerr, Dean Cox and Andrew Embley.
He finished in the top 10 of the club’s best and fairest in that star-studded line-up.
Adam’s brother, Scott, joined him at the Eagles at the end of 2007. Joel was already at the Cats, where he had played in a flag in his first season. Adam joked that he’d hoped to hold the title of most premierships by a Selwood for longer than a year.
The Bendigo brothers (Adam and Scott) played their first match together in the local derby in round three, 2008 and were teammates for six seasons before Adam retired in 2013 after 187 games.
Between 2008 and 2010, when Troy was playing at the Brisbane Lions, the four Selwoods were playing AFL football at the same time.
Scott and Adam lined up against their brother Joel, who was already a dual premiership player by then, in the 2011 preliminary final when West Coast played Geelong. Adam found himself lined up one-out on Joel deep inside 50 during that game – his younger brother telling him he hoped the ball would come down. It didn’t.
Joel, Adam and Scott Selwood at Troy Selwood’s funeral at GMHBA Stadium in Geelong earlier this year.Credit: AFL Photos
Adam said when his playing career ended that being able to play nearly 100 games with Scott was “sensational”, and that he was so proud of what all his brothers had achieved in the game.
It said much about Selwood’s continuing impact that he was named the Eagles’ best clubman and a life member in his final season, before moving into coaching.
He had exceeded his own expectations as a role player, finishing third in the club best-and-fairest counts of 2007 and 2008. He also played four international rules games for Australia between 2006 and 2008.
Worsfold said in 2013 that Selwood could play in any position and was “never underrated within our football club”.
Selwood was a strong advocate for the Eagles’ AFLW program and became head of women’s football at the Eagles. He had also completed a bachelor of commerce degree with qualifications in sport management at Curtin University, and had moved away from football to work in education.
Saturday’s AFL matches were played against a pall of sadness, for Selwood’s wife, Fiona, children Lenny and Billie, parents Maree and Bryce, and brothers Joel and Scott.
“We drafted him at 18 and watched him grow as a player and person,” said Worsfold. “We got to know the Selwood family so well over the years, and they are such wonderful people who our hearts go out to more than anything today.”
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