56 Facts About Chris Judd

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

Chris Judd is regarded as one of the greatest players of all time.

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.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Chris Judd was taken by West Coast with its priority draft pick 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.

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

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

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

Chris 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.

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

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

Chris Judd 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.

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

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

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

Chris Judd's departure created much attention and speculation among the Melbourne-based clubs, the media and the football community.

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

On 11 October 2007, Chris Judd was officially traded to Carlton along with a third round selection in the 2007 AFL Draft for Carlton's first and second round selections and Josh Kennedy, who was reluctant to leave Carlton.

Chris Judd was given the No 5 guernsey vacated by the trade of Kennedy, and he signed a six-year, $6,000,000 contract with the club.

Chris Judd's first game in navy blue was a Friday afternoon practice match on 7 March 2008 against the Western Bulldogs at MC Labour Park, with his presence attracting 12,000 fans, and he began his senior career with the club in the first round.

Chris Judd represented the Victorian team the following week for the Hall of Fame Tribute Match.

Chris Judd again won the John Nicholls Medal and All-Australian selection in 2009.

In Carlton's elimination final loss to Brisbane, Chris Judd was cited by the Match Review Panel for misconduct against Michael Rischitelli, after Chris Judd made unnecessary contact near Rischitelli's eyes.

The media initially reported the case as eye-gouging, and Chris Judd created a bigger controversy when he stated that his intention was not to eye-gouge, but to push a pressure point behind Rischitelli's ear.

Chris Judd later said that his comment was intended as dry humor, but it was misinterpreted as genuine and prompted condemnation from many sources, from sports commentators to martial arts experts.

Chris Judd won his fifth All-Australian selection, being named on the interchange bench, and his third consecutive John Nicholls Medal, becoming the only player other than Nicholls to win the Carlton best and fairest award three times in a row.

In 2011, Chris Judd led Carlton to its best season in a decade, helping the team finish 5th at the end of the season, and to record its first finals victory since 2001.

Chris Judd was awarded the Leigh Matthews Trophy for the second time in his career, as well as the AFLPA's Best Captain Award for the first time.

Chris Judd was named vice-captain and ruck-rover of the All-Australian team, his fourth consecutive selection.

Chris Judd had entered the Brownlow Medal count as an unbackable favourite, with Sportsbet electing to pay out early after round 20, but he ultimately finished fifth.

Chris Judd played his 200th AFL game during the season.

In 2012, Chris Judd played his 100th match for Carlton as captain against Hawthorn in round 14.

Chris Judd denied that he intended to hurt Adams, but the tribunal found him guilty and suspended him for four matches.

Chris Judd finished third in the John Nicholls Medal for the 2012 season.

At his peak, Chris Judd was the best midfielder in the game and is widely regarded as one of the best players of the 2000s decade.

The strengths and traits of Chris Judd's playing style were different between his time at West Coast and his time at Carlton, and he has been widely lauded for his proficiency at both.

Chris Judd possessed a combination of explosive speed, acceleration, agility and core strength which few if any players in the league could match; these attributes gave him the ability to receive the ball in traffic, then break free from or weave around taggers and opponents, allowing him to take clearing kicks in open space which were damaging to opposition teams.

Chris Judd overcame this by converting his game style to predominantly inside ball-winning role.

Chris Judd has been praised by AFL journalists and past players in addition to formal awards he has received.

Chris Judd is the hardest opponent I've ever played on.

Nicholls, Doull, Jesaulenko, but Chris Judd is by far the best I've ever seen.

In 2009, Chris Judd appeared alongside other AFL footballers in an AFL television advertisement titled "AFL: In a League of its Own", which featured prominent AFL players playing Australian rules football at famous sporting venues around the world, and in the middle of other sports being played, including basketball, Association football and American football.

Chris Judd is featured in a scene where he receives a kick from Aaron Davey on a racecourse in front of a group of racehorses.

In 2009, Chris Judd was featured in the official advertisement for the AFL, receiving a mark from Aaron Davey on a basketball court and then sprinting in front of a stampede of horses on a horse racing track before handballing to Adam Goodes.

Chris Judd joined streaming news channel Ticker News in October 2022 to host a program called 'Talk Ya Book'.

Chris Judd is currently studying for a Master of Business Administration degree and has previously completed university courses in media studies and corporate governance.

Chris Judd owned a Toyota Prius hybrid car and switched to "green power" at his former Perth house.

On 31 December 2010, Chris Judd married speech pathologist and model Rebecca Twigley.