Geelong ruck coach Josh Jenkins says his club will be alright in the leadership department without Joel Selwood, offering a revealing insight into “one of the greatest captains who has ever lived”.
The Cats great bowed out on the highest of terms with a premiership as captain in what turned out to be his final game. 245 of his 355 games came as captain – an AFL record – while he also departed the game a six-time All-Australian and three-time best and fairest.
In typical form, Selwood’s final game was an influential 26-disposal game where he was arguably best on ground in the first half.
It was an effort full of grit and determination, key features of Selwood’s captaincy. One of the toughest to have played the game, the ex-Cat’s take-no-prisoners element to his game underlined his leadership.
But seeing first-hand Selwood’s leadership – both as a player and then coach – Jenkins believes the famous Geelong name is misunderstood in his style.
“When I was traded from Adelaide to Geelong, Joel was in Tokyo and he gave me a call,” Jenkins began on SEN's The Run Home.
“He goes, ‘don’t come in out of shape, the hoops don’t look good if you’re out of shape’, and I thought, ‘here we go, this is the Joel Selwood I was going to get’.
“He is the complete opposite. He’s a soft ear, he’s friendly, he’s kind, he listens.
“There were times at training when I thought Joel is going to whack these blokes here, he’s going to give it to us. He almost never did.”
Jenkins continued: “The way he competes on the field against his opponents is completely in contrast to the way he captains and the way he looks after his boys, and I say looks after his boys because that’s actually how he captains.
“The only time he’d really get his back up is if someone criticised his team or went after his coach, he’s a protector and he’ll give you chance after chance.
“Eventually, if you burn him then that’ll be it, but he’s not the ruthless, hardened, vicious captain that most people think he probably is.”
How Geelong goes about replacing one of the game’s greatest leaders after a premiership season is a question that will define the club as 2023 unfolds.
Last season’s vice-captains Patrick Dangerfield and Tom Stewart loom as the most likely choices, while Mark Blicavs and Cam Guthrie are no doubt in the mix.
None have any full-time AFL captaincy experience, but all have served time on Selwood’s leadership group at points during their careers.
It’s experience that should keep the Cats stable at the top, says Jenkins.
“The other thing I’ll say in regards to what it will look like after Joel Selwood, there’s a lot of players here who will step into different roles who have seen how Joel operated, and that rubs off,” Jenkins said further.
“Patrick Dangerfield has been a vice-captain, Mark Blicavs has been a vice-captain, Tom Stewart has been a vice-captain… Tom Hawkins is as influential as Joel.
“I don’t think there will be a major drop off, without disrespecting what Joel did… I think they will be okay.”
He added: “An imprint will still be here in a sense because Hawk is a very similar operator, Pat Dangerfield is a very similar operator, Mark Blicavs is a very similar operator, Chris Scott is a similar operator, so I think they’ll be okay in that sense”.
“But it’s going to be a hole, he’s one of the greatest captains who have ever lived.”
Geelong’s premiership defence gets underway with a Friday night game against Collingwood in Round 1. The club is expected to make a call on their 2023 leadership group in the coming six weeks.