Time at Caulfield
Chris Judd attended Caulfield Grammar School from 1996 (Year 7) to 2001 (Year 12). He debuted in Caulfield’s first eighteen in 1998 (when in Year 9) and was first eighteen captain in 2001. He was also a member of the first eleven in 1999 and the athletics team from 1999 to 2001, winning the APS Under 17 1500m title in 1999. He was awarded school colours in both football and athletics. At Speech Night 2001, Chris was awarded the ‘Dougie’ Rankin Memorial Prize for Progress in Studies and Success at Sport. He received an ENTER score of 96.20 in the Victorian Certificate of Education.
West Coast Eagles
In addition to Caulfield Grammar, Chris played his junior football with East Sandringham Football Club and the Sandringham Dragons. At the 2001 AFL Under 18 Championships he was named captain of the Victorian Metropolitan team. He was drafted by the West Coast Eagles at the end of 2001 with its priority draft pick (No. 3 overall) and made his debut for the Eagles in the second round of the 2002 AFL season against Collingwood at the MCG. After an impressive debut season, he received the AFL Players Association Best First Year Player award.
Chris played 134 games for the West Coast Eagles from 2002 to 2007, kicking 138 goals. He was the winner of the 2004 Brownlow Medal for the Fairest and Best Player in the AFL. He captained the Eagles in 2006 and 2007, including their 2006 premiership side, and was awarded the Norm Smith Medal for the best player in the 2005 grand final (which the Eagles lost to the Sydney Swans by one point). He was West Coast Club Champion in 2004 and 2006, and received the Leigh Matthews Trophy as the AFL’s Most Valuable Player in 2006.
Carlton Blues
In September 2007, Chris Judd announced that he would be leaving the West Coast Eagles and seeking a trade to a Victorian club. In October he was officially traded to Carlton. He was named as Carlton’s captain and made his debut for the Blues in the first round of the 2008 AFL season.
Chris remained Carlton captain until the end of the 2012 season, after which he relinquished his role in the club’s leadership group. He decided to retire from football in 2015 after sustaining a knee injury. He played 145 games (and kicked 90 goals) for Carlton from 2008 to 2015, bringing his AFL total to 279 games (228 goals). Whilst at Carlton, Chris won three John Nicholls Medals (2008, 2009 and 2010) as Club Champion and was awarded his second Brownlow Medal in 2010. He won the Leigh Matthews Trophy for the second time in 2011.
During his AFL career, Chris received six All-Australian jumpers (in 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011), including one as captain in 2008. He also represented Victoria on one occasion and played for Australia in the International Rules Series against Ireland in 2002. Following his retirement from football, he was the recipient of the AFL Players Association’s 2015 Madden Medal. Named in honour of brothers Simon and Justin Madden, this medal is awarded each year to the retiring player who has best demonstrated on-field excellence, personal development and community spirit over the course of his playing career.
After football
Chris Judd was made a Life Member of the AFL in 2015 and of the West Cost Eagles Football Club in 2018. After doing some guest commentary in 2016, Chris joined radio station Triple M in a special comments role. He is currently pursuing a number of business and media interests. He joined the Board of Directors at the Carlton Football Club toward the end of 2017.
Chris married speech pathologist and model, Rebecca Twigley, in 2010. They have four children, son Oscar (born 2011), daughter Billie (born 2014) and twin boys Tom and Darcy (born 2016).
Read about other Grammarian footballers including Western Bulldogs legend John Schultz and Collingwood VLW player Grace Buchan here.
Feature image by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images.
