I believe Nick Stevens should have been captain instead of Whitnall. Whitnall has spent alot of time on the bench in the pre season, but even when on the ground, he hasn't done much, and hasn't shown much leadership.
Every game this pre season, Nick Stevens has played well, especially at times when the game was in the balance (e.g vs Essendon* last quarter).
The last 2 weeks Whitnall has had the distraction of the issue with his brother, but even before that in the first game he didn't do much. I believe the captaincy was given to Whitnall as he was the reigning B&F winner and the fact that he has been at Carlton longer.
If the last 3 years form was taken into account, I believe Nick Stevens has been better on the whole.
Nick Stevens would have been a better option as captain, as he is a midfielder (as was Kouta when captain), so therefore he is always where the play is, therefore he could guide and teach his teammates around him.
Whitnall has had past weight problems and the incident in Ballarat, whereas Stevens gave up being his brothers best man for the Wizard cup 2 years ago. This shows his commitment for the team and teammates.
I hope Whitnall turns his form around and proves me wrong.
What are your thoughts????

Lance is Captain and that's that. As to the wisdom of that decision we could debate it forever. I would hope that he knows his performances have been below par so let's see what happens over the next few weeks. Love to see the big red fire engine get up of the canvas and shows us he still has what it takes. If he doesn't fire then he and the bench will be well aquainted!

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"our electorate seeks less to be informed and more to be validated." Sad times.

all the young midfielders look to Stevens for advice so to them he pretty much is captain...you dont have to be the official captain to have a say i guess...we all know who the leaders are and they should all be acting like captains...

My thoughts are that Murph will be our next captain, and do the job with honour for a decade.

Anyone else is just keeping his seat warm.

YOU GOT THAT RIGHT BROTHER!

MURPH FOR PM....and Captian of Carlton

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Revenge is a dish best served cold

&

I AM PROUD SPONSOR OF THE CAROLINE WILSON HATE CLUB

Agree Murphy will be the next captain...if Lance wasnt captain he might not be getting a game next week.
Hartlett and Fisher both played well and Kennedy deserves his spot back..
Lance doesnt have a position..and is out of form.
Even Cloke has improved his fitness to adapt to the modern quicker game..Lance just isnt suited to a quick running game and has limited value...

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"When you have the attitude of a champion, you see adversity as your
training partner."
- Conor Gillen

Please see my comments about Lance in the official semi final game thread. I agree that Stevens could have been an equally good Captain. I hope he proves this when it comes to contract negotiations.

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Succumb to your highest emotion!!!!

i think we might a mistake by making lance our captain, stevens is just so much of a better option he's an absolute professional at what he does and whenever you read an interview with a younger player they always mention how much nick stevens has helped them even if they arent midfielders. i understand lance might be playing with an injury and that's why his form of late has been awful but still nick stevens has been the player who has always stood up at crucial times and i can never remember his name being in the paper for something bad he's done off the field. i will support lance as captain because that decision has already been made but i think nick would have been the better choice. anyway, i cant wait another couple of years till murphy (or even gibbs or kennedy or walker) grabs the captaincy and then we'll never have this problem again.

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Last edited by true_blue3 on Mon Sep 26, 1981 5:07 pm; edited 92 times in total

Given Lance's lack of fitness on the night, Stevo had to have stepped up, and didn't do too badly for mine, but also for mine I reckon Lance is the only option given his length of service (and Mrsg likes him as well).. You can't blame his performance on the personal stuff .. maybe KoRn's lack-of-fitness question from the Carlton vs Brisbane - NAB Grand Final (Pre-Match Discussion) thread needs to be answered

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[Sam Jacobs] looks like a 7' Lance Whitnall, and [Mitch Robinson] looks like a 4' Lance Whitnall
(The SEN team during the Carlton v Cats 2009 pre-season match)

Lance is our Captain....lets wait a few more games before we "sack" him.

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No ones listening till you make a mistake.

The new board are absolutely watertight at the moment (good for the club, bad for me ) but one piece of info I did get was that the board were EXCRUCIATINGLY close to making Murph skipper this season..

Dont expect Lance to be our leader for too much longer...

My view and take is this.

The thought of Murphy captain now was a close one, very close, but having missed half of last season made it close to impossible to get him over the line.

Lets say the club wanted Murphy sooner rather than later.

The club had two options:

1/ Select Nick Stevens.

At 26 or 27 he probably has what 4 - 7 years at the top depending on many factors, but if he was captain and performing well, how do you take it off him and give it to Murphy cleanly.

2/ Select Lance Whitnall.

At his age, body output etc etc it would be much easier to either retire the big red in a season or two, or at least step aside so that Murphy could take over.

By selecting Whitnall the transition to Murphy is easier and shorter.

My view is obviously subjective, so thats just a view from the outside in.

Good on Lance for being made captain, and I am sure he will offer us value in 2007.

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Supporting the Blues No Matter What

As I have said on other occassions, Lance will not be a part of the new Carlton.

What we are watching right now are the reasons why this will be the case.

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My Blue Heaven

or they could have made murphy co-captain with stevens for a couple of years (like west coast did with cousins and brisbane did with voss) and then give it completely to murph. voss turned out to be the best captain i have ever seen (and probably ever will see) and cousins was as good as anyone as far as captaincy ON the field went, so that couldn't have turned out too bad. anyway, it shouldn't be too hard for murph to take the captaincy on by himself once he does get it.

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Last edited by true_blue3 on Mon Sep 26, 1981 5:07 pm; edited 92 times in total

Josh, with the greatest of respect, because you have previously posted stuff with some accuracy - your info on the captaincy is way off the mark.

Not being a follower of the code for too long, I know that Sticks was the longest serving captain in the League for a long time (he may still be).

How was the transition to Sticks handled? Was his predecessor a long-stander, or a seat-warmer as JohnM suggested 8LW is?

Could we compare 3MM to 4SK, in that, if 3MM is selected in a few years' time, he will still be quite young, and will still have a number of years ahead of him?

I only ask these questions as a parallel, to suggest that, if / when 3MM is named as Captain, he will be there for a lo-on-ng time (maybe longer than Sticks was) .. that is, in this modern game, his body holds out (taking his very first season out with a shoulder reconstruction doesn't bode well) ..

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[Sam Jacobs] looks like a 7' Lance Whitnall, and [Mitch Robinson] looks like a 4' Lance Whitnall
(The SEN team during the Carlton v Cats 2009 pre-season match)

Sticks was interviewed just before the announcement and said Murphy was not even in contention.

Kernahan was a legendary Vice Captain of SANFL side Glenelg and SA State player when he was appointed Carlton Captain at 23.

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No ones listening till you make a mistake.

That's fair enough, too - this is only his second season, and he's not even 20 yet. You can't put the responsibility of club captain on such young shoulders .. let him develop more (and ohh, what development) so he can be a great player as well as a memorable captain


So did they recruit him as Captain or recruit him and then make him captain after a year or two?

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[Sam Jacobs] looks like a 7' Lance Whitnall, and [Mitch Robinson] looks like a 4' Lance Whitnall
(The SEN team during the Carlton v Cats 2009 pre-season match)

And played in a Glenelg Premiership in 1986....(his ambition) before agreeing to come over to Carlton where he was appointed Captain of the Carlton side that won the Premiership in his first year as Captain....1987.

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No ones listening till you make a mistake.