Former Carlton great Robert Walls has thrown his support behind Patrick Cripps as being the right man to captain the Carlton Football Club in 2022.
Sam Docherty and Cripps led the Blues as co-captains throughout 2021, however with Docherty stepping down from the role on Wednesday after a reoccurrence of testicular cancer, Walls feels Cripps has the right qualities to be the stand-alone skipper.
With numerous clubs appointing co-captains in recent years, Walls feels there should only be one designated captain of a football club.
“I don’t believe in co-captains, I think you have one captain and he’s the leader and everyone understands that,” Walls said on Sportsday.
“That one captain then knows that he steers the ship, if I was making the decision at Carlton I’d be having Patrick Cripps as captain and I would have Jacob Weitering and Sam Walsh as vice captains.
“I think that 12 months from now you’ll have a better indication as to whether you go with Weitering or whether you go with Walsh.
“Walsh has only had three seasons of senior football and he’s been outstanding, Jacob Weitering is rock solid, he does his job and thinks of other players.
“Both (Weitering & Walsh) present extremely well off the field which is important as well but I’d have Cripps as captain and the other two as vice captains.”
Cripps, Docherty, Walsh, Weitering, Ed Curnow, Marc Murphy (retired) and Liam Jones (retired) made up Carlton’s leadership group in 2021.