Geelong legend Jimmy Bartel has opened up on the deaths of Troy and Adam Selwood, describing the resilience of the Selwood family as “extraordinary”.
Troy’s death came in February before Adam in May, sending shockwaves through the AFL community and Australia as a whole. Both men died from suicide.
Bartel was at Geelong the same time as their brothers Joel and Scott, playing in three premiership teams with Joel in 2007, 2009 and 2011 and admitted “I don’t think we can ever comprehend” the sadness behind the situation.
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“(Joel) and I lived together for quite some time. Then of course, his parents, my mum and his parents became quite close. I played over 13 years with Joel and shared so much with him,” he said on the A Life of Greatness podcast.
Jimmy Bartel and Joel Selwood in 2018. Getty
“And I think the most difficult thing is, like, what do you say? And I know that’s the minor end of the problem, but you just want to make it all better for them.
“Then you think everyone’s trying to make it all better for them, but trying to let them know whatever you need, we’re there. But then you want them to know that you’re still always there, even after the phone call, the message, or seeing them in person.
“And the resilience of that family is extraordinary.
“I still can’t get my head around it. I think it gets put into laser focus, you know, with when you have your own kids losing one child and then losing another shortly after it.”
Bartel added the identical twins component and closeness shared between Adam and Troy “rocked” him but “it wouldn’t compare to the Selwood family and close friends”.
The 41-year-old went on to express his deepest sympathy for the pain felt by the family.
“Every time you think about it, you think about Joel, you think about Scott, the youngest brother, and then (parents) Bryce and Marie, it’s like, can you give me some of your hurt?,” he said.
“And I think everyone thinks that, like, can you move some of that load onto us? Because no one deserves that.”
Bartel touched on several other rarely spoken about issues for the A Life of Greatness podcast, ranging from his upbringing with a violent father to navigating his marriage break-up with ex-wife Nadia in the public eye as well as what it was like to be cut by the Cats and have his career end before he was ready to let it go.
He admitted that ultimately his retirement was thrust upon him “pretty quickly” and at the time he felt some resentment towards the Cats.
“The club was going through a bit of a transition stage and the coach (Chris Scott) was like, I don’t think I want to go ahead with you,” Bartel revealed.
“And you’re like, okay, like I understand the nature of business and it does [hurt] because you’ve given 15 years and you’ve sacrificed and you’ve committed and you’re like, well, I’ve still got the contract. I’ve fulfilled it.
“I think I’m one of those people who actually understands the nature of the football business. Yeah, I was hurt and I was shattered.”
Bartel played 305 games for Geelong from 2002-2016, winning three premierships, a Norm Smith Medal and a Brownlow Medal and was a two-time All-Australian, making him one of the most decorated players of his generation.
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