Retired Cats legend Joel Selwood has signed with NRL club Melbourne Storm.
The 34-year-old will jump on as a leadership coach for next season on a part-time basis.
The Storm are believed to have beaten a number of organisations to land Selwood’s services, with the four-time premiership player and 2022 premiership captain highly touted as one of the best leaders in Aussie sport.
Club officials say his role will involve mentoring the club’s current and emerging leaders, while also supporting the club’s next generation.
Selwood retired from playing after September’s Grand Final win against Sydney and said he was excited to be joining the club he has admired for a long time.
2022 Premiership Captain Joel Selwood (Sports Media Image/Marcel Berens)
“I’m really excited to be joining Storm. I’ve been watching them and been in envy of what the club has been able to achieve for a long time,” he said.
“When the opportunity come up, I saw it as a great chance to get involved in something a bit different in an environment that is so well run.
“I was impressed with the presentation Frank and Craig made and have already been welcomed at the club when I visited AAMI Park earlier this week. I can’t wait to meet the rest of the playing group and getting into the season.”
Storm General Manager Football, Frank Ponissi, said Selwood has already impressed with his interest to learn more about the Club.
“Joel is an impressive person and has shown he has outstanding leadership qualities as Captain of the Cats over a long period of time,” Ponissi said.
“We were particularly impressed with his humility and eagerness to learn, which was no surprise given what we knew about him and from the feedback we got from those we spoke to through the process, including Simon Lloyd at the Cats.
“We knew our two clubs had a lot of similarities, not just in sustained success but the values we each hold, and Joel has been a constant driver of those values for a long time.
“His leadership qualities and values off the field are just as impressive and have been very well documented over the years which was also very important to us in speaking to Joel about this role.”
