Chris Judd

Christopher Dylan Judd (born 8 September 1983) is a former professional Australian rules footballer and captain of both the West Coast Eagles and Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Widely regarded as one of the best footballers in the modern game, Judd twice won the league's highest individual honour, the Brownlow Medal, and was a dual Leigh Matthews Trophy winner as the AFL Players Association most valuable player.

Judd was a graduate of the 2000 AIS/AFL Academy and participated in the 2000 AFL Under 18 Championships, although due to his young age at 17, he was too young to be drafted by an AFL club.

He played TAC Cup football with the Sandringham Dragons through to 2001.

At the 2001 AFL Under 18 Championships, Judd was named captain of the Vic Metro team, despite chronic shoulder problems.

Although he missed the 2001 AFL Draft Camp, his performances at the state championships made him an obvious standout to recruiters and he was tipped to be picked high in the 2001 AFL Draft.

Judd was taken by West Coast with its priority draft pick (No. 3 overall) in what was later to be called the "super draft" due to the standout quality of the players to have developed from that draft year.

At a representative level, he played for Australia in the 2002 International Rules Series and for Victoria in the AFL Hall of Fame Tribute Match in 2008.

Judd is recognised as a great at two clubs: West Coast and Carlton.

During his 134 games with West Coast, he captained the club for two seasons and won two Club Champion Awards.

After returning to Melbourne to captain the Carlton Football Club, Judd won the John Nicholls Medal as the club's Best and Fairest three times, and became the fourth player in AFL history to win a Brownlow Medal at more than one club.

In August 2021 Judd was elevated into the AFL Hall of Fame.

Judd was born in Melbourne to Andrew Judd and Lisa Engel.

He was raised in Melbourne's south-eastern suburbs, where he played for the East Sandringham Junior Football Club before he attended Caulfield Grammar School.

Judd was an all-round sportsman and junior track and field star and solid cricket player.

At Caulfield Grammar, he began to focus on Australian rules football and later captained the school's First team.

Judd attained an ENTER score of 96.20 on his Victorian Certificate of Education.

He attended St Leonard's College throughout his primary school years.

Judd played only one WAFL match before making his debut for West Coast in round 2, 2002.

He had an impressive debut season, winning the AFLPA Best First Year Player Award.

In his second season, he alternated between the midfield and forward line and with several dominant performances he finished runner up in the club's best and fairest.

He was appointed as one of the Eagles' four vice-captains prior to the commencement of the 2004 season.

2004 was Judd's breakthrough season in which he combined with captain Ben Cousins, midfielder Daniel Kerr and ruckman Dean Cox in the Eagles' midfield.

Judd averaged 22 disposals, kicked 24 goals for the season, and became West Coast's first Brownlow medallist, polling 30 votes to finish seven ahead of runner-up Mark Ricciuto.

Additionally, he was named to his first All-Australian team as a wingman, and won the Eagles' Club Champion award for the first time.

In 2005, he again averaged 22 disposals and was runner-up to Cousins as Club Champion; he kicked the Goal of the Year and won the Norm Smith Medal in West Coast's four-point loss to in the 2005 AFL Grand Final.

He had won one premiership and was runner-up with the West Coast Eagles in 2005.

He was also a premiership captain, having captained the West Coast Eagles to the 2006 AFL Premiership.

On 1 March 2006, Judd was named captain of the club, succeeding Ben Cousins who stepped down from the role for disciplinary reasons.

He led the Eagles to a one-point victory against Sydney in the 2006 AFL Grand Final, winning his only AFL Premiership medallion.

Additionally, he won his second club best and fairest award, his second All-Australian selection and the Leigh Matthews Trophy as the AFL Players Association's Most Valuable Player.

Judd's strong form continued into 2007 and he polled Brownlow votes in each of his first eight games for the season.

However, as the year progressed, he was hampered by a chronic groin injury which sidelined him for several weeks and restricted his performance in the games he played.

He was forced to play-off the bench and in the forward line often and was rested for several games in anticipation of playing in the finals series.

On 16 September 2007, two days after West Coast's semi-final elimination by Collingwood, it was announced that Judd had left West Coast and would be requesting a trade to a club in Victoria.

He notified West Coast coach John Worsfold and CEO Trevor Nisbett of his intentions earlier that day.

As arguably the most talented player in the competition, his departure created much attention and speculation among the Melbourne-based clubs, the media and the football community.

In the weeks following the announcement of his departure, Judd met with four clubs: Essendon, Melbourne, Collingwood and Carlton.

On 2 October 2007, Judd announced that his preferred club was Carlton, and Carlton was also considered most likely to secure a trade with West Coast, because the club held two early draft picks which could be used in negotiations.

Consistently recognised as one of the game's premier midfielders, Judd was selected in the All-Australian team six times, including as captain in 2008.