Selwood opens up on booing

JOEL Selwood has openly reflected on the boos and crowd conjecture that have become a regular feature of his game.

Selwood, 33, is undoubtably one of the greats of the game, having just broken the all-time VFL/AFL record for most games as captain.

He’s also a three-time premiership player, in addition to six All Australian jackets.

However, the Geelong champion has faced constant boos, especially to start the 2022 season, given his tendency to duck and search for high free kicks.

That’s in addition to Selwood’s game style, often playing the game on the edge to inspire the Cats.

“You can’t please everyone,” Selwood said when asked on SEN’s Dwayne’s World how he copes with booing.

“I regularly listen to a few people that I obviously like to and I’m happy to share them with you, a Nathan Buckley or a Nick Riewoldt, those guys that are straight out of the game that call the game and call it for what it is, I think you also get a lot of feedback from them.

“I’m guessing that you [Russell] are talking about the rules and head highs and all that, you get an understanding that they see it differently and they’ve been living in it for a long time.

“We would just appreciate it if everyone called it that way too.”

The Geelong skipper was then asked if feels he is harshly dealt with, by both commentators and fans.

“I think the commentators, from what we understand, you get a briefing at the start of the year, and I think there’s a consistency to probably just have to go with that commentary. I’m not talking about you personally Dwayne, I think across the board there’s a number of people,” Selwood said.

However, it’s not “necessarily” something that bothers him.

“If you’re in the game a long time you’re going to have a lot of people that are not going to like particular ways that you go about footy,” he said.

“It’s not something that keeps me up at night.

“I fear for my mum and my wife and people around me (on the booing), but not necessarily for myself.”

While Selwood’s AFL resume is nearly complete, the 339-gamer will be hoping 2022 is the year he can become a premiership captain for the first time.

 

– BY SEB MOTTRAM/ SEN