Annus memorabilis

IT’S ONLY May, but you begin to suspect the Selwood family won't have to be reminded that 2007 was an eventful year.

Already, this season, the family's three AFL siblings – Troy, Adam and Joel – have had fascinating situations to contend with.

In round one, the 18-year-old Joel gave the family cause for celebration, becoming the third Selwood brother to play in the AFL by making his debut for Geelong.

In round three, a different story unfolded after Adam, a premiership player with West Coast last year, clashed with Fremantle's Des Headland. Selwood was reported and forced to front the tribunal for using "insulting language" – which Headland claimed had been directed at his young daughter. Although Selwood was eventually cleared of the charge, the much-publicised incident attracted a media frenzy.

On Saturday, 23-year-old Troy – the eldest twin by "18 or 19 minutes" over Adam – added his own story, returning to the highest level after suffering a serious back injury which required off-season surgery.

Although he was part of a Brisbane Lions' side that went down to Essendon by 64 points at Telstra Dome, Selwood was among his side's best upon return, winning a whopping 35 disposals – 13 more than his previous best – in his first AFL match since round 21 last year.

After the match the 34-gamer told afl.com.au it was simply "great to get back and get through the game".

"Four weeks ago I played my first game back in the reserves," Selwood said. “That was a little hurdle, but this was the biggest hurdle of all. I'm just happy I got through unscathed. I'm just happy to still be standing.”

Lions coach Leigh Matthews was full of praise for what he called the midfielder's “more than admirable” return.

"It was a nasty back injury late last year,” Matthews said. “He had to have a back operation, and they don't operate on your back unless it's an extreme need. But he's done everything possible. One thing about Troy is that he'll do everything possible to be as good as he can be.

"He did his rehab as absolutely as good as he could. He played a bit in the reserves, and he was more than good [against Essendon]."

Despite his successful return, Selwood’s injury isn’t the kind that goes away quickly.

He underwent microscopic discectomy – a type of minimally-invasive spinal surgery.

"There is a bit involved in it, but they more or less took a bit of my disc away from my back, which was impinging on the nerve that went down my leg," Selwood said.

“I had to get that cut away, but it released a bit of irritation because I was getting a lot of pins and needles in one side of my body.”

Rehab from that kind of surgery is an ongoing process, and Selwood says attention to detail is key to managing the recovery.

"I've just got to do a lot of things differently to other people these days, like when I'm sitting down, I don't sit on couches or hard chairs. I've got a few kitchen chairs at home that have hard solid backs, so I just make sure I sit on them when I sit down.

“I've got to make sure I do my rehab perfectly, like do pilates. It's going to be part of my life for the rest of my career, so it's something I've got to do."

Reflecting on his family's eventful 2007, Troy said he was proud of how Adam dealt with his episode in the media spotlight.

"I was a bit out in the wilderness because I'm up in Brisbane, so I felt a little bit disappointed that I wasn't there for Adam at the time, but you just have to block out everything that's been said. Those people don't know who he is.

As for his younger brother, Troy will have the chance to see just how well he is progressing up close, when Geelong and the Brisbane Lions face off in round 12 at Skilled Stadium.

"It's been fantastic for Joel, because he is much younger than us. It'll be weird to play against him in four weeks time. With Adam, I've grown up with him and bashed him around. But because Joel is my little brother, I don't know whether to take a little bit more care with him, because you might want to look after him a little bit."

"I've been rapt with the way my brothers have been able to hold themselves this year, because it's been a tough time for the family,” he added.

“It's a credit to them both, considering what they've been through, to still play good footy at the end of the day."

The views in this story are those of the author and not necessarily those of the clubs or the AFL.