‘Perfect teammate’ Chris Judd’s touching tribute as charity vows to honour Adam Selwood

AFL great Chris Judd referenced Adam Selwood’s running capacity in a touching post to Instagram on Monday, describing “Sellars”, his fellow 2006 West Coast premiership player, as “the perfect teammate”. “He was a great runner, but it was purely a result of grit, determination and work ... every step was a testament to his determination, which was without peer. He was the perfect teammate, you knew you were getting his everything each week on the field while being completely focused on the team,” Judd wrote. “While off the field his personality blended a hard edge with kindness and compassion, a kindness he gave to everyone else but not himself.” Harrison, the 2016 Young West Australian of the Year, established the charity in 2009 after losing her step-father to suicide.

Loading Selwood had written on his donation page: “This cause is deeply personal to me, and this run marks an important step in my own healing journey, as well as an ongoing commitment to raising awareness about mental health and suicide prevention across the country”. Harrison said the charity’s immediate focus was on supporting the Selwoods, and she planned to discuss with the family how best to use the money Adam had already raised and how this could be put to a long-term legacy. Selwood first aligned himself with the charity more than 15 years ago because it aided children and teenagers. “We are figuring out a bigger legacy for that. We are mindful the public are very supportive … We are thinking of the bigger picture, what’s going to honour him, what is going to honour the Selwoods, maybe a link to football,” said Harrison, whose brother Brodie was once on the Eagles’ playing list. Asked how she would remember Selwood, Harrison replied: “Absolute gentleman, is how I would describe Adam. Incredibly generous with his time … a man of integrity.”

The deaths of the Selwood twins have reverberated across the football industry, and sparked a fresh conversation about mental health both in the AFL and broader communities. The Eagles players arm in arm before their match against St Kilda in Perth. Credit: AFL Photos AFL great James Hird called on the sport to provide greater help for past players. Hird has previously written about spending time in a psychiatric facility after reaching crisis point with his mental health in 2017. “The support past players get after the retire, when they get to 40, when they get to 50, I don’t think is there,” Hird told Nine’s Footy Furnace.

“I think a lot of players get through their careers, they get out, and they are fine, but there are lot that aren’t. I really believe more needs to be done by the AFL, the AFLPA, the players, the clubs to help players that haven’t quite filled the void that AFL football had for them.” The annual “Spud’s Game”, a match played in honour of St Kilda great Danny Frawley where funds are raised for mental health, was held in round nine between the Saints and the Blues at the MCG. There are calls, led by former North Melbourne premiership player and mental health advocate Wayne Schwass, for an entire theme round dedicated to raising awareness of mental illness. Adam Selwood’s premiership teammate Ashley Hansen, now a senior assistant coach with Carlton, added his voice for change on Monday.

“I think as the awareness and probably the severity of the problem is growing, it probably needs to be brought to the forefront, and certainly a large proportion of the football audience this is starting to affect,” Hansen said on ABC radio. “Obviously, it was only last week that our club was involved in Spud’s game. We probably need to grow that to a wider audience than just the St Kilda, Carlton football clubs, to have these conversations as to what people have available to them, the support.” Former Fitzroy and Adelaide coach Robert Shaw also wants greater awareness of mental health. Shaw and Hird have been involved with the FifthQRT foundation, established by Carlton premiership greats Ken Sheldon and Ken Hunter, which aids past players battling mental health issues. “This is not a criticism of the AFLPA because I do genuinely believe the AFLPA do a great job across a lot of different parts, having had the benefit of that myself. But more needs to be done,” Hird said.

“More and more players who had full-time careers who didn’t have anything else in their life, any trade, any education, have got to a point in life where self-worth, identity, is not there.” The AFL says it understands the reasons for a mental health round, and has pointed to its role in supporting Spud’s Game. The AFL also runs a detailed mental health program for players and staff through its pathway programs and into the senior league. The AFL Players Association is supportive of the proposal for a mental health round, and also provides support and options for players in need of help. One of four Selwood brothers to play AFL, Adam played 187 games for West Coast, including the 2006 premiership.

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