One of the absolute greatest players the modern game has ever seen, Chris Judd has announced his immediate retirement from AFL football this morning, following a severe knee injury suffered this past weekend.
“It was a disappointing finish to my career. But I don’t lose sight of how fortunate I’ve been at two clubs.”“I’d like to firstly thank my Carlton teammates and all those I’ve played alongside. You’ve got me through hard times. To my parents and sister Lauren: to be born into a family as loving and kind as that I feel like I won first division of lottery. To Bec and my kids, there has been plenty of highs and lows but your support has been immeasurable. The Carlton fans have been incredibly generous and kind over the journey. I wish I could have bought you more success. To Adelaide fans as well; to be shown that level of respect as I got carried off the ground was incredible.”“I couldn’t say it was an easy decision to walk away from something that has been my life’s passion. I knew the end was coming so in that sense it hasn’t been a huge surprise but I guess the suddenness has caught me a bit off guard. I didn’t get carried out on a chariot, but on a medivac. You don’t get to write your own ending.“It was the wrong decision to play on this year because I’m having a knee reco in two weeks, but my motives were pure.”“It’s going to be incredibly hard to let football go.”
Judd was taken with the 3rd overall pick of the 2001 AFL Draft – the fabled “superdraft” – by the West Coast Eagles. He played 134 games for the Perth club, notching up a Brownlow Medal in 2004 as a 21 year old, and leading the Eagles to the 2006 Premiership as captain.
“Just a country boy with a heart of gold. But not being from the country will make that hard.”
A wry smirk from a stand-up bloke. You can hardly ask for anything more.