Chris Judd knew as soon as he landed badly on Saturday that he had played his final game of AFL football.
The Carlton and West Coast champion confirmed his retirement on Tuesday morning, with a knee reconstruction looming in the next two weeks.
Judd landed badly in Saturday’s game against Adelaide game, rupturing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
He said no part of him had contemplating attempting trying to get back from the injury and play again next year.
“I wouldn’t say it was an easy decision because to walk away from something that has almost been my life’s passion was challenging,” he said.
“But I thought 99 per cent once I’d hurt myself that it was an ACL, and not for a second did I think I was going to play another game of footy once that news was confirmed.
“In that sense it hasn’t been a huge surprise but I guess just the suddenness of it has caught me a little bit off guard.
“But I’ve got time now. I guess I’ve got to dedicate a little bit of time to the physical injuries and getting them right and seeing what else has to be done.
“I’ll take a chance for a deep breath and to regroup mentally and go from there.”
“It’s been an incredibly fortunate journey, not a magical ending but still a very special 14 years.”
Judd said he knew, after deciding to play on this year, that the end was coming sooner rather than later.
But he said his decision to keep going was, in hindsight, the wrong call, given the injury and the club’s difficult start to the season.
“Clearly it was the wrong decision to go on. I know some people get tempted in times like this to try and spin everything positively,” Judd said.
“As it turned out it was the wrong decision but it was very much made for the right reasons. I think if I’d made the wrong decision for the wrong reasons then I’d regret that but my motives were pure and the decision making process was sound.”
“As it’s turned out it hasn’t been a great year but I’ll be left with no what-ifs.”
Judd said he had seen some “green shoots of growth” in the team’s fighting performance against the Crows, after a difficult start to the season.
“I think we’ve bottomed out and the growth is starting to come. It’s a group that’s filled with really good values and that’s not a flippant remark, it’s something that should hold them in good stead going forward.
“Marc Murphy’s working really hard to keep the entire playing group accountable for what they want to stand for and I guess I just really encourage them to keep going down that path but to make sure that that individual responsibility remains really strong.
“At the end of the day the club’s made up of lots of different individuals. But I’m really hopeful and confident that significant growth is and will keep occurring at this footy club.”
Judd finishes his career on 279 AFL games, with two Brownlow Medals and a premiership to his name.
Taken at no.3 in the 2001 draft, Judd played for the Eagles from 2002-2007 before joining Carlton in 2008. He was captain of West Coast from 2006-07, including the Eagles’ 2006 premiership, and won the Norm Smith Medal in West Coast’s loss to Sydney in the 2005 grand final. He won two best and fairests at the Eagles.
He won the Brownlow in 2004 with the Eagles and 2010 at Carlton. He was the AFL MVP in 2006 and 2011 and was named in the All-Australian team in 2004, 2006, 2008 (captain), 2009 (vice captain), 2010 and 2011 (vice captain).
Judd won the club’s best and fairest award in his first three years at Carlton. He was skipper of the Blues from 2008-12.
THE STELLAR AFL CAREER OF CHRIS JUDD
* 279 games from 2002-15 (134 with West Coast from 2002-07, 145 with Carlton from 2008-15)
* Won 2004 Brownlow Medal with West Coast and the 2010 Brownlow Medal with Carlton. Runner-up in 2009 and third in 2006
* AFLPA Most Valuable Player in 2006 and 2011
* Norm Smith medallist in 2005
* West Coast premiership captain in 2006
* West Coast best-and-fairest winner in 2004 and 2006
* Carlton best-and-fairest winner in 2008-10
* Six-time All-Australian in 2004, 2006, 2008 (captain), 2009-11.
Related: Judd’s greatest moments
This story first appeared in The Age
