Joel Selwood : All In (2023) by Selwood Joel

Author:Selwood, Joel [Selwood, Joel]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

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Our year had become a battle as we sat sixth, a game and percentage inside the top eight. Hawthorn were second, a game behind Sydney, as we faced them in round 19, another Friday night blockbuster at the MCG. We kicked our ninth highest first quarter score ever as we jumped the Hawks with 9.3 to 2.0 in the first quarter. We looked certain to stretch our eight-match winning streak against the Hawks.

But the reason we respected the Hawks so much during that era was because not only were they talented, they never gave up. They dropped to 51 points down early in the second quarter before the momentum shifted, slowly but steadily, with Sam Mitchell the architect of the change. They were still 19 points behind at the last change but Brad Sewell put them in front with less than five minutes remaining. They looked to have won the game when they led by eight points. Tom Hawkins then snapped a goal to cut the margin to two points and the game was again up for grabs, with about four minutes to play.

In such moments, my game sense peaked and I took any opportunity on offer. One arose when I noticed Mitchell had blood on his face as a result of a clash between us that had led to a stoppage in their forward 50 with less than a minute remaining. I wanted him off, so pointed at Mitchell and yelled, ‘Blood, blood’ to the umpire. He blew the whistle and a reluctant Mitchell dawdled to the bench to be off for the key play. They still won the clearance and we were lucky not to be penalised for holding the ball but when Paul Puopolo made a mistake deep in their forward line – Clarkson would admonish him post-game for his attempt to kick the ball in mid-air – we regained possession. The always cool Andrew Mackie scrubbed a kick to Mitch Duncan who found Stevie Johnson. We knew there was not much time left. My running pattern in such situations was through the middle and I knew Stevie was always going to the corridor so was ready as he swung on to his left foot and found me. Hawk also knew I would play on, so he charged forward on the lead. The only calculation he needed to make was whether he would be in range when he marked, which he did with 23 seconds remaining.

Hawk and I ended up playing 305 games together, but our on-field connection was already entrenched, in this our sixth season. I always looked out for him. At times I probably did it too much but it worked most times, so why wouldn’t I? Richmond’s David Astbury once told Hawk he could not believe the amount of times Mitch Duncan or myself would hit up Hawk on the lead because there were so many times when the defender appeared to have him covered. But we would find a way. According

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