Cats’ legend to speak at sports awards

BALLARAT Sportsmen’s Club will honour outstanding local athletes at the Sportsperson of the Year Awards and dinner next month.

With formalities to be held from 6.30pm on Wednesday 14 February at the Ballarat Golf Club, the evening will include a presentation from special guest and retired Geelong Football Club player Joel Selwood.

Club member Wes Cusworth is host, with Ballarat Sportsperson of the Year, the Hollioake Trophy for a senior individual athlete who competes in a team event or discipline, and the Widmer Award for a coach, trainer, or mentor part of the honours.

Also to be presented are the Mackenzie/Valpied Award for sport administration, the Wunhym Trophy for an exceptional junior athlete, and the Thompson Scholarship Awards for talented aspiring young people.

BSC secretary Corey Saitta said the club is delighted to have secured a “legend of our times” as guest speaker.

“Joel Selwood is a former champion Australian rules footballer,” he said. “He is a four-time premiership player, including one time as captain, a six-time All-Australian, and a three-time captain of the All-Australian team.

“Selwood captained Geelong between 2012 and 2022, is the club’s games record holder, has won the Carji Greeves Medal three times as the Geelong Football Club’s best and fairest player, and holds the record for longest-serving captain in the AFL.”

The 2022 AFL Grand Final, when the Cats won the premiership over the Sydney Swans, marked Selwood’s final game in the league.

After his retirement, Selwood became a leadership coach at Melbourne Storm rugby league club, but in December last year, he accepted a new role with the AFL’s football operations department.

He not only has a footy background, having been involved in track and field athletics at a high level as a junior in Bendigo.

In hurdles, he was a state champion multiple times over, and held running and jumping records at the Bendigo Sports Centre.

He found his pathway to the AFL through his involvement with the Bendigo Pioneers in the TAC Cup, debuted in the top league in 2007, and became Geelong captain at age 23.