He made his debut with Geelong in 1993 and became a fearless player, usually playing off half-back, but then found his way as a key-position player.
He was awarded Geelong's captaincy in 1999, but did not play a game that season due to injury. The falling out between the club and Colbert caused great controversy.[1] He was traded for Cameron Mooney and draft picks that yielded, amongst others, six-time All Australian and two-time Best and Fairest winner Corey Enright. Mooney retired a dual premiership player with the Cats, and Enright retired as a three-time premiership player.[2]
In 2004, Colbert was appointed the Kangaroos delegate for the AFL Players Association (AFLPA). In 2005, Colbert announced his retirement.
Post-football career
In 2006, Colbert joined the West Coast Eagles as one of their back-room staff. It was on a part-time basis, based in Melbourne.
He was a boundary rider for Fox Sports, including post-match interviews and one-on-one interviews for Fox Sports AFL of the Ablett brothers, and a one-on-one interview with Adam Simpson on his 250th game for the Kangaroos.
In 2009, he was a flying instructor at Moorabbin Flight Services at Moorabbin Airport, and also a pilot for an air freight service at Moorabbin Airport, before becoming a pilot with Tigerair Australia.[3]
In 2020, he was announced as the new licensee of two McDonald's franchises in Mildura and Irymple after the former licensees were ousted in a racism scandal.[4]