THE NEW grandstand at GMHBA Stadium in Geelong will be named after four-time premiership Cats hero Joel Selwood.
Selwood, who retired after winning his fourth flag with Geelong in 2022, will join club greats including Reg Hickey and Gary Ablett whose names adorn features of the redeveloped stadium at Kardinia Park.
Selwood finished his 355-game career as the longest-serving captain in VFL/AFL history, having taken over from Ling ahead of the 2012 season, and as the Cats' games record holder.
He also broke the record for most VFL/AFL finals played in the 2022 Grand Final, surpassing Michael Tuck's long-standing benchmark of 39.
"I got called in to have a meeting and I was actually not sure what I was going to," Selwood told ABC Radio Melbourne on Friday morning.
"I went in and there I was, i was in a room that was looking on the stand that was getting built at the time - this was a little while ago now - and [the Kardinia Park Trust] said that they'd put my name forward.
"It blew me away when they told me."
Selwood said the enormous honour was far beyond anything he had hoped to achieve during his career with the Cats.
"When I was 18 after school, I got drafted down here and all I wanted to do was be the best player I possibly could, not to have a stand named after me, but to build (and) hopefully (be part of) the next team that wins the Grand Final. I was fortunate enough to do that," he said.
"I didn't know how special the Geelong community would become to me, but growing up in Bendigo, I know that communities can have a big impact on the place around (them) so I'm really fortunate I was able to have a little impact along the way."
Work continues on the $142 million stage five redevelopment project, which will increase the stadium's capacity to 40,000 once completed.
The Kardinia Park Trust also revealed that the northern entrance outside gate one will be named the Djilang Plaza, reflecting the traditional Wadawurrung name for the region.
The two gates accessing the new stand will be named the Polly Farmer Gate – after the late Geelong Legend Graham ‘Polly’ Farmer – and the Audrey Cope Gate – after the late women’s football pioneer and Geelong’s inaugural women’s team captain in 1954.
Geelong CEO Steve Hocking congratulated Selwood on the honour.
"Joel has made a significant contribution to the Club and the wider Geelong community since he walked through the doors at Kardinia Park in late 2006 and this is a fitting recognition,” Hocking said.
"It is fantastic to see two incredibly important figures in Geelong's history recognised with Polly Farmer's and Audrey Hope's names adorning the gates of our new stand.
"Polly changed the way Australian Rules football was played for the better with his innovative style of play, while Audrey was a true pioneer in the earliest days of organised women's football in Geelong."
