Geelong was 20 points down at the long break, after earlier trailing the Hawks by five goals but, inspired by Selwood's heroics, powered to a seven-point victory.
The Cats skipper produced a brutal, skillful, 33-touch performance that earned him the maximum 10 votes in the AFL Coaches Association Award, and Stokes believes he deserves every accolade.
"I think a lot of credit has to go to Joel Selwood," he told 3AW on Tuesday night.
"The way that he pulled the boys together at half-time was amazing, and then he led by example on the field. So he backed up what he was saying in the changerooms (with) actions, which is what the great captains do.
"The first couple of contests in the third quarter, I was on the wing at that stage and seeing him go about his footy, you just wanted to get on board with him and help him out.
"I really believe he singlehandedly lifted the team in that third quarter. Once we saw what he was doing, we all wanted to follow his lead."
Stokes has played under three great captains at Geelong – premiership leaders Tom Harley and Cameron Ling, and now Selwood. He says Selwood most resembles Ling in his leadership style.
"With 'Lingy', he was the kind of bloke that you just wanted to play for and you hung on every word he said. (Selwood) is very similar to Lingy, I think," he said.
"He’s one of the boys – he can have a coffee with you down the street and have a beer with you on the weekend, but when it comes to training and playing he expects nothing less than 100 per cent. And it’s led by him."
