The trio joins the Carlton captain Chris Judd, Kade Simpson, Andrew Carrazzo and Michael Jamison as members of the elite leadership core. Outgoing group members are the retired Simon Wiggins and the club’s elder statesman Heath Scotland, who in the twilight of his playing career opted to relinquish his leadership responsibilities to a younger man prior to the vote being taken.
Gibbs, Murphy and Russell, who formerly commanded leadership roles with their respective junior clubs, each regarded their elevation to the Carlton team’s governing body as a rare honour
Twenty-one year-old Gibbs, still eleven matches shy of his 100th senior game, said he was heartened to be so acknowledged by his peers. “It’s a pretty stronger indicator that you’ve got something to offer the group and I’m pretty proud of that,” Gibbs said. “I’m looking forward to improving my leadership skills and qualities by being in the leadership group . . . ”
Twenty-three year-old Murphy, now 102 games into his Carlton senior career, declared he was humbled to be considered of the right stuff to take on added responsibilities with Gibbs and Russell. “It’ll be a good learning experience, the first time in there . . . I think I can bring some experience, the past four or five years and 100 games now, so it’s time to step up as a consistent contributor to the team - and I think some of my opinions will help with some of the younger guys coming through.”
And 24 year-old Russell, whose 100th senior appearance is but seven matches away, confirmed that he had harboured an ambition to one day earn a place in the elite group. “Obviously over the last couple of years I’ve been pushing for it and it’s great to be a part of it this year,” Russell said. “[This] has all come about after gaining confidence in my own game. I’ve been able to grow my leadership and voice, that sort of stuff [and] being confident to speak in front of the boys and know that they’re going to respect what I have to say.”
Carlton captain Chris Judd was swift to endorse the elevation of Gibbs, Murphy and Russell. “It’s really exciting that Bryce Gibbs, Marc Murphy and Jordan Russell have come into the leadership group for the first time. All those guys have been really good players for us for a while now, but they’ve really stepped up the off-field side of their game and their directional voice out there on the track,” Judd said.
“I think it’s really going to be good for our group to have those guys leading the team in a more official capacity this season. All of them lead by example and are very professional in the way they approach their footy. They’ll all bring something to the group, they’re excited and that’s good for all of us.”
Judd explained that Gibbs, Murphy and Russell earned their places in the leadership group following the selection process in which each member of Carlton’s senior list were asked to nominate five players on a 5-4-3-2-1 basis.
As he said: “Five votes goes to the player they most think has the attributes we’re looking for to be a leader at the club, all the way down to one, and then the top-voted players essentially from that form the basis of the leadership group”.
