Ash Bolt
Joel Selwood will take his place as the longest-serving AFL captain when he runs onto the MCG on Saturday night.
The game will be Selwood’s 227th in charge of the Cats and move him ahead of the current record holder Stephen Kernahan.
Now in his 11th year in the role, Selwood said he still enjoyed the challenge of leadership.
“I appreciate the game for what it is,” he said.
“You can put all the pressure in the world on someone’s shoulders but when you get to throw that jumper on just before a game … there’s no better feeling than that.
“I was talking to Nick Riewoldt and Jonathan Brown the other night and Nick was speaking about the pressures that he though came with [captaincy] and the anxiety.
“I don’t necessarily get that, but I get the love of what you’ve worked through throughout the week to get ready for that moment.
“I wouldn’t be doing it if I lost that love.”
Selwood said he hadn’t thought a lot about the record, but rather it was a moment to reflect on the support he had received along the way.
“You don’t set out to do it (break the record), and as a young captain, I probably didn’t understand the position I was holding at the time,” he said.
“You look back on it … and you just understand that you’re supported so well along the way to allow that to happen early days.”
He said he particularly leaned on the support of former captains Tom Harley and Cameron Ling, as well as coach Chris Scott during his early years in the role.
Scott said Selwood’s impact on the club would be felt for a long time.
“Joel’s talked about how he was supported but as a coach, you couldn’t hope for a better on-field lead by example captain and then an off-field, help build the culture, support the environment that we’re trying to create type of person than Joel,” he said.
“He’s widely admired … he’s been an inspiring leader for a long time.”
The Cats will be looking to bounce back for the milestone game after a disappointing loss against Sydney last week.
Scott said the Cats would welcome back Shaun Higgins for the match, after he was rested for round two.
“He’s fine so he’ll play,” he said.
“We feel like we’ve got a deep squad that we’re going to use and that means that some of our players will be rotated out when they’re in rude health.
“That was the situation with Shaun last week and it’ll be the situation with others in the future. “
He said it was also likely Sam De Koning would return to the team after missing last week due to the AFL’s concussion protocols.
Scott also revealed important midfielder Sam Menegola would make his return from knee surgery last October through the VFL this week.
“The initial prognosis that I was provided in November after the surgery was that he wouldn’t play until potentially late May and … it’s not even April and he’s playing,” Scott said.
“It’s one of those things that you need to have a bit of luck with it, which I think he’s had, but the preparation has got to be there to meet that opportunity and he’s done that really well.”
