Judd doesn't miss captaincy

Chris Judd expects to play 80 per cent of the Blues' Round 1 clash against Richmond. Picture: Wayne Ludbey Source: Herald Sun

CHRIS Judd says he has been reinvigorated after relinquishing the Carlton captaincy.

Judd described himself as now "one of the soldiers" following Marc Murphy's elevation to the role at their AFL club.

He says there are parts of the leadership role he will not miss.

"It's just a nice thing to do later on in your career where you can really just focus on playing footy and not be distracted by some of the administrative duties that go with being in a leadership position," Judd said.

"It's not that I won't have a say at the club or won't be fully engaged, but I certainly feel like I'm enjoying the purity of just worrying about playing footy."

Judd admitted he had to make a choice and decided concentrating solely on playing was his preference.

"It's one of those things, you can't be half pregnant and you can't be half a captain," Judd said.

"There's a lot of parts of being captain that I loved and really enjoyed and probably some other parts that I grew tired of.

"You can't pick and choose with a job like that, so the time was right to hand it over and Murph has already done a terrific job."

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Judd said he would mentor some of the younger players but made it clear he would not try to influence the leadership.

"Murph's the boss, him and the rest of the leaders are making the rules and I'm one of the soldiers, and that's sort of refreshing as well," he said.

Judd has been troubled by hamstring issues and said he "didn't have a great pre-season" but said he was now almost back to full fitness.

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The Blues open their AFL campaign against Richmond this week and Judd said he expected to play up to 80 per cent of the game.

"Not having that (NAB Cup) rotation cap, it will be easier just to play in six-minute bursts," he said.

He said he planned to play on next season but there would be no more lengthy contracts at Carlton in his future.

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