Chris Judd opens up about moment that made wife 'public property'
AFL champion Chris Judd has opened up about his Brownlow Medal triumph in 2004 and the moment that made wife Bec "public property".
Judd's glittering AFL career was recognised with his induction into the Australian Football Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility on Tuesday night.
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The former Carlton and West Coast player was among four inductees alongside former St Kilda star Nathan Burke, Perth and Richmond great Rob Wiley and women's football pioneer Debbie Lee.
A Brownlow Medal winner at two clubs, Judd retired in 2015 after 14 seasons and 279 games with West Coast (134) and Carlton (145).
The first of those Brownlows came in 2004 when he and wife Bec shot to superstardom.
Bec stepped out at the red carpet event in a plunging red dress that was splashed across every website and newspaper in Melbourne.
Judd said he and Bec instantly became "public property" after proving to be the 'it' couple in Aussie sport at the time.
"It did feel like a before and after event, some wonderful opportunities opened up from it. Life was just very different," Judd said on Fox Footy's Hall of Fame broadcast on Tuesday night.
“Things around privacy, having a partner who was seemingly public property, as well, there were a lot of things to get used to and my memories are of a really special night but an exclamation point between life before that and life after that as well.”
Chris Judd honoured after glittering AFL career
The brilliant midfielder won the game's most coveted individual award in just his third season at AFL level, and claimed the Norm Smith Medal in a losing grand final against Sydney the following year.
He captained West Coast in their nail-biting 2006 grand final win over the Swans, having taken over as skipper when troubled star Ben Cousins was stripped of the role earlier that year.
He left the Eagles at the end of 2007 to be the face of Carlton and claimed a second Brownlow in 2010, but could not repeat his premiership success with the Blues.
West Coast premiership teammate and fellow Hall of Fame member Dean Cox was immediately taken by Judd's talent.
"In the first couple of training sessions you saw glimpses of the player he would become," Cox said on Fox Footy.
"He'd take the ball, accelerate, weave through, dodge players and then hit up the key forward.
"It was really impressive and right from the outset you knew he was something pretty special."
Cox added: "There wasn't a flaw in his game. If you look at great players and legends of the game, they do what's required when no one's watching.
"That's what made him become the player he was and the bigger the game, the better."
with AAP
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