Retired Geelong champion Joel Selwood has revealed his next career move, joining the Melbourne Storm as a leadership coach.
The longest-serving captain in VFL/AFL history, Selwood retired from the AFL after 355 games for the Cats. He made the announcement just five days after lifting his fourth career premiership cup in September.
Selwood will start with the rugby league team in a part-time role from January next year.
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“I’m really excited to be joining Storm. I’ve been watching them and have been in envy of what the club has been able to achieve for a long time,” Selwood said.
“When the opportunity come up, I saw it as a great chance to get involved in something a bit different in an environment that is so well run.
“I was impressed with the presentation Frank (Storm footy boss Ponissi) and Craig (coach Bellamy) made and have already been welcomed at the club when I visited AAMI Park earlier this week. I can’t wait to meet the rest of the playing group and get into the season.”
Ponissi said Selwood’s role will involve mentoring the Storm’s emerging leaders while also helping to appoint the club’s next captain.
“Joel is an impressive person and has shown he has outstanding leadership qualities as Captain of the Cats over a long period of time,” he said.
Geelong captain announces retirement
“We were particularly impressed with his humility and eagerness to learn, which was no surprise given what we knew about him and from the feedback we got from those we spoke to through the process, including Simon Lloyd (Geelong football manager) at the Cats.
“We knew our two clubs had a lot of similarities, not just in sustained success but the values we each hold, and Joel has been a constant driver of those values for a long time.
“His leadership qualities and values off the field are just as impressive and have been very well documented over the years which was also very important to us in speaking to Joel about this role.”
Selwood is not the first retired AFL star to take on the role, with former Collingwood captain Nick Maxwell spending six years at the Storm after he finished his playing career.
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