WHEN assessing Carlton's chances of winning the premiership he once obsessed about leading them to, Chris Judd cited Sydney as an example of what was within the scope of the Blues.
But it is not the slick, skilful and courageous benchmark that Sydney is this season, rather the model dubbed "ugly" by AFL chief executive Andrew Demetriou back in 2005.
Judd was already a Brownlow Medallist when the star-studded Eagles thrashed the Swans in April that year and was in agreement with Demetriou about their standing in the competition, if not their style, at the time. How shocked he soon became.
"That is when Andrew Demetriou came out and said they were playing a terrible brand of footy and the whole footy world really had the slows with them," Judd said.
"You fast-forward 16 weeks and they have won the flag. That wasn't me as an outside footy person thinking that about the Swans at the time. That was me, out on the ground competing against them, thinking that they were really struggling, yet they were good enough to win the flag that year."
The success by Sydney broadened the mind of one of the competition's deep thinkers as to how swift change could occur and now gives Judd hope Carlton can challenge for a premiership before his career is complete.
"I think if you are not living in hope of having some success, there is not a lot of point in being around the place," he said.
"Things can turn really quickly, but a lot of things need to go right for that to happen."
Judd's discussion of premierships comes about because of his achievement of another milestone, namely the 250th game he will play against Hawthorn tonight at Etihad Stadium.
Despite achieving everything in football - Judd captained West Coast to a premiership in 2006 and claimed a second Brownlow in 2010 - he rarely gave the impression that the sport was the be-all with him.
In earlier years he claimed not to watch a lot of football. In interviews he presents as a balanced individual with broader interests. As a columnist he wrote about terrorism and global warming, among other topics.
But the 29-year-old yesterday provided an insight into the desire that has driven him to become a champion, revealing he had been obsessed with leading Carlton to its first flag since 1995, saying he did not yet feel it was time to reflect on achievements.
"(Winning the premiership) is something I spent a lot of time thinking about a couple of years ago, almost in a bit of an obsessive nature," Judd said.
"Your nature is that you do your best, you work hard with the group and ... what will happen will happen. We don't know what is going to happen in the future, so to dwell on it is a waste of energy.
"When you're younger you spend your whole footy life just looking to what is coming next. I still have never sat down and watched either of the grand finals with West Coast."
There was talk that Judd, who signed a six-year deal to join Carlton, would retire at the end of the massive contract. After all, he had spent six seasons of his career at West Coast, a club that has never managed to get an Eagle to 300 games. His output has also been marginally down since claiming a second Brownlow. Yet he signed a deal to play on in 2014. And yesterday he spoke of his love of the game, that he appreciated it as much now as he did when famously stepping out for only one game with WAFL club Claremont before his promotion to the elite level.
"Definitely. It is a really special thing to be able to play AFL footy and something that you really shouldn't take for granted," he said.
"I think that challenge of competing with 21 of your mates against 22 other professional athletes each week is a wonderful feeling and very hard to replicate elsewhere in your life. I certainly enjoy playing just as much now as ever."
Bearing that in mind, does that mean Judd will continue on beyond 2014, a scenario that would give him the chance to reach 300 games?
"The questions have largely been based around when it is all going to end, probably because that fits around a neat Twitter headline ... but the honest answer is that I don't know any more than what you guys do," he said.
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