Mick Malthouse runs the rule over every AFL captain and says Marc Murphy has failed with Carlton
WHEN Chris Judd wanted to relinquish the Carlton captaincy coach Mick Malthouse had a choice to make. He explains why his “standout applicant” didn’t get the job — and assesses the current AFL leaders.
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TAKE a look at the current group of AFL captains and you’ll notice a stark contrast among them.
Not every great player will make a great captain, but when appointed captain, you are expected to play great.
Captains set the team standards and live by those standards. They are used as a reference for what direction the club is heading.
It’s a tough gig.
Joel Selwood is a standout as Geelong captain. He is tough, unrelenting, and never asks his teammates to do what he’s not prepared to do himself.
He puts his body on the line and is vocal in giving direction on field.
It seems that Selwood is a natural leader. Some people are.
Like a young man I watched over the weekend. With similar traits to Selwood, I was very impressed with the leadership capabilities of North Melbourne’s Jack Ziebell.
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He is as tough as nails, committed, vocal, and leads his team on the ground and off it.
This is a big one.
If you are prepared to walk down the race in front of your teammates before the game, then you must be prepared to lead them back off the ground afterwards, regardless of the outcome.
Or at the very least, have your arm around the strugglers offering support.
It’s a tip for Carlton captain Marc Murphy.
In recent weeks it’s been Patrick Cripps – touted as the next Blues skipper – who has walked the team off the ground.
Cripps has all the attributes of a natural leader. He is tough, proud, unrelenting, and plays his guts out every week.
The example he sets is one for his teammates to follow.
I have been in the fortunate position to appoint most of my captains at each club I’ve coached.
Jimmy Edmond was the anointed leader at Footscray when I arrived and stayed in the position for a further two years before I moved fullback Rick Kennedy into the role.
It’s a tough position to captain from but we had a young team that needed experienced guidance.
Steve Malaxos led West Coast in my first season there, until I appointed a young, but highly credentialed John Worsfold who was my captain for eight years.
Collingwood had Nathan Buckley as its skipper, and he was a good leader.
But he needed to work on a few areas including his communication skills, which he did.
He was a fantastic leader for the next eight years.
Carlton was different. Chris Judd was in the twilight of his career and wanted to step away from the responsibilities of captain.
I had a choice of three to replace him.
Andrew Carazzo was the standout applicant, but unfortunately he was too often injured.
A leader needs resilience so he can play alongside his teammates as often as possible.
Kade Simpson was also in the mix, but as a then 29-year-old who puts himself in a vulnerable position with the courageous way he plays each week, I wasn’t sure how much football he had left in him.
So I chose a young man who could grow into the position over the long term.
I knew that Marc Murphy would need a lot of assistance, but he wanted the job, and I thought we had enough time to work on it together.
Leadership can become a burden. At times you are ostracized, when you need to make decisions that can impact on friendships.
You are the focus of media and supporter attention.
And you have to keep your standards up, week in week out.
But captaincy doesn’t have to be a millstone around your neck.
And you don’t have to do it alone if you have the right support around you with capable deputies.
As coach you must also ease some of the burden because you need your captain to enjoy his leadership.
In Trent Cotchin’s early days as captain, every Richmond loss seemed to fall totally on his shoulders, and it weighed him down, effecting his form.
But he has grown through that period to look far more comfortable in the skippers’ shoes, to the Tigers’ benefit.
I’m wondering if Travis Boak is currently feeling bogged down by the weight of responsibility.
In recent times he hasn’t quite met the high standards he promised early on.
I think Port Adelaide is a top four side, but the difference between the top four and the next four may be determined by leadership.
It’s also tough to take over from a club great who can leave a shadow over his replacement.
I fear this is happening at St Kilda. Jarryn Geary is a heart and soul player, but at 30 he knows, and the Saints know, that he is a short-term captain.
At some stage someone will have to stand up and take over the mantel that Nick Riewoldt left - which wont be easy.
Geary plays tightly contested footy in the backline. He is so focused on his opponent that his ability to address the needs of the rest of the team is limited.
You really need your best leaders to be where the action is.
At Adelaide, Tex Walker is highly respected, however full-forward is perhaps the hardest position to captain from.
If he is running hot and kicking goals then his leadership shows on the scoreboard, but if the goals dry up, like in recent weeks, then it becomes hard to lead from primarily one part of the ground.
Jarryd Roughead is the exception. Having taken over from one of the great captains in Luke Hodge, he ticks many of the leadership boxes and most importantly, has the respect of his teammates.
Even when he hasn’t been as prominent as he would like in Hawthorn’s forward line, Roughead’s leadership contribution can never be questioned.
Neither can the leadership qualities of Scott Pendlebury. He demands respect from his Collingwood teammates by the way he plays and the way he conducts himself on and off the arena each week.
Shannon Hurn may not have been the first pick of many as Eagles captain, but he has proven himself worthy of the title.
He is highly resilient and respected and has been almost faultless in the last couple of years.
Dual leaders can work if the combination is right.
Nathan Jones has been through the tough times at Melbourne, so he knows what’s at stake and plays like it. Jack Viney wears his heart on his sleeve.
Together it works well.
GWS has Phil Davis and Callan Ward. As a duo it works, but Callan is the standout.
Nat Fyfe, Scott Pendlebury, Jarryd Roughead, Travis Boak, Jarryn Geary, Easton Wood, and Shannon Hurn will all need to be replaced in the near future.
Some clubs will groom players for the role, but right now it’s difficult to see who would replace them.
Then again, my two premiership captains were poles apart.
Worsfold was a well recognised under 18 champion, while Nick Maxwell was rookie listed as a 19-year-old diamond in the rough.
They each set the physical demands required, and had the mental toughness needed to lead a team. And they both had courage and confidence in their own conviction.
I can’t think of two better players to lead their clubs to a premiership.
Sometimes you have to be brave when appointing a captain, and sometimes it’s a player’s courage that makes him a standout leader.
Either way, you can never question the importance of a skipper who is a step ahead of his teammates in every situation.
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Originally published as Mick Malthouse runs the rule over every AFL captain and says Marc Murphy has failed with Carlton