How footy star Troy Selwood showed his incredible passion for the game in last interview just before his tragic death aged 40

Troy Selwood’s passion for Australian Rules Football was reflected in the way he played the game.

Throughout his career, the Brisbane Lions tagger never took a backward step. He was courageous, showed an elite footballing intelligence and competed for every challenge that presented itself.

Off the field, he was seen by many as an outstanding individual, who was compassionate, kind and loved the game.

The footy world was rocked on Tuesday following the heartbreaking news of his tragic passing, aged 40, with the Selwood family releasing a statement paying tribute to the former Lions midfielder.

‘We are heartbroken by the loss of our son, brother and father, Troy this morning. We will miss Troy more than words can express,’ they wrote.

He was the twin-brother of West Coast star Adam, and the sibling of four-time premiership winner Joel and his Cats team-mate, Scott.

‘Troy was a much loved and loving member of our family. Over the course of his life, Troy brought joy and light to all who knew him,’ the statement said.

‘He was a loving son of Maree and Bryce, a supportive and caring brother to Adam, Joel and Scott, and a doting father of beautiful children Tom and Sadie.

‘We will miss Troy’s bravery, his humour, his deep thinking, his love and compassion. Troy had a generosity of spirit, cared deeply about people and strove to make the lives of others better. We are grateful to all those who have supported Troy throughout his life, and we know that his many friends, teammates and colleagues will miss him greatly.’

After making 75 appearances in the AFL with the Lions, Selwood would use his elite knowledge of the game to help bring through the next talent of young stars.

He worked his way up from managing Geelong’s club academy and reserves program to working under the wing of recruitment under legendary recruiter Stephen Wells.

It was here that he honed his skills in the talent identification world under Wells and developed a knack for identifying some of the game’s most unique and exciting young talents.

Some of those have included the likes of WA country kid Shannon Neale, who won South Fremantle’s Rising Star award before being snapped up by the Cats in the 2020 Draft and last season established himself as the successor to Tom Hawkins in Geelong’s front-line.

Selwood was also instrumental in Geelong’s trades for Brad Close, identifying the small forward back in 2019 – well ahead of any other recruiting managers.

He would move to Collingwood in 2021 and would later go on to join Geelong Grammar as their head of football and sport, which was where he happened to meet exciting Richmond star Sam Lalor, who was drafted to the Tigers as the No 1 pick in the 2024 AFL Draft.

But in one of his final interviews, Selwood again showed his commitment and passion to the game, speaking on Lalor’s abilities not only as a cricketer but also as a footballer.

‘The boys used to all come out when Sammy came to the crease, and watch him bat,’ Selwood said to The Age, speaking on Lalor’s cricketing ventures, playing for Geelong Grammar.

His classmates would flock to the cricket oval to watch him open the batting with Selwood adding that the windows of the boarding house near to the oval were not safe when Lalor was at the crease.

‘Absolutely, those boarding house windows, he came close to them a number of times.’

While the young Richmond midfielder could have pursued a career with the bat, he instead chose to play football and has earned comparisons to Tigers great Dustin Martin. Yet, Selwood believed Lalor was more akin to Jordan De Goey or Christian Petracca in his style of play.

‘He is super explosive, hence the comparisons to ‘Dusty’ or to Petracca or to these type-players,’ Selwood said.

‘I feel that that’s more the type of player. Look, they’re all pretty similar, but I feel like Petracca and De Goey, when I watch him play, I think of those boys first … he’s a brilliant mark overhead.

‘And he did it all over the ground, especially as a year 11, he was just sensational.

‘He showed some of that this year in the national championships, taking a couple of fantastic marks … he will be super damaging if he does push forward.’

Selwood subsequently revealed where he felt Lalor was best positioned on the ground, stating: ‘I would imagine that if he’s playing any football, any AFL football, next year for Richmond, it’d be as a forward.’

The former Geelong talent advisor’s innovative work as a player recruiter also nearly saw him convince Olympic champion Kyle Chalmers to swap his togs for a pair of footy shorts.

He also nearly pulled the move off, with Chalmers being tempted by the move but would stick to swimming and would go on to win Silver in Paris.

‘I think he made the right decision, but it was worth a try,’ Selwood joked after their meeting had come to light last year.

But his passion for helping younger stars grow their talents was truly commendable, with Selwood recently also speaking out on Ollie Peak’s involvement in Australia’s tour to Sri Lanka.

Speaking back in 2022 on his move to join Geelong Grammar, Selwood said: ‘I just love working with kids who really want to get the best out of themselves.

‘It’s a really nice fit for me, and hopefully, the school, which I’m excited about.’

Tributes, meanwhile, have been flooding in for the former footy star, with Carlton coach Michael Voss, who had previously coached Selwood at the Lions in 2009, reflecting on his bravery when he and Richmond’s Alex Rance knocked each other out during a brutal collision.

‘Every now and again as a coach you get goosebumps about different things, and I got goosebumps when I saw that,’ Voss said.

‘I thought “that’s what teamwork is all about” – when one of your mates puts his body on the line for you and is willing to hurt himself for the greater cause.

‘When you see all the guys go over to him after the game and acknowledge that effort, it is spine-tingling. And when you see a commitment like that from one of your teammates you can’t help but not want to let him down.’

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