Judd won his second Carlton best and fairest award in just his second season in the navy blue, polling 558 votes and finishing well clear of fellow midfielders Marc Murphy (451 votes) and Bryce Gibbs (415 votes).
He praised the improvement of both Murphy and Gibbs in helping the Blues reach their first finals series since 2001, and said his hold on the medal might not last beyond this season.
"Obviously 'Murph' was pretty stiff to miss out on All-Australian selection and Gibbs had a fantastic year as well," Judd said.
"It's always a huge honour to win the best and fairest, [but] the two young blokes are pushing really hard so it may be my last for a while."
After being troubled in recent years by injury, Judd will not have to endure the pain of making a date with the surgeon during the pre-season.
The Carlton champion has been booked in for surgery in four of the five previous pre-seasons, but avoiding the doctors' table this year has left him feeling eager to begin pre-season training in the best possible shape since arriving at Visy Park.
"It means that instead of doing a lot of rehab work and trying to get your fitness to a reasonable level, you can focus more on specific areas and take a bit more care in particular detail in what you have to work on," he said.
"It's nice to have the quality of life in your eight weeks off - it will certainly make pre-season a lot easier as well."
After the Blues first finals campaign in eight years ended in a heartbreaking loss to the Brisbane Lions, Judd admitted the Blues still had areas in which they needed to improve from this season's seventh-placed finish.
"One of the big things that will happen with this group is just playing football together and getting a better understanding of how each other plays," he said.
"Time and hard work are two things that are pretty important in us pushing further ahead up the ladder next year."
But the 26-year-old was adamant the club had the depth and talent to step-up to the challenge and cement a top four spot in season 2010.
"Any improvements now are a lot harder because we are closer to the top of the tree," he said.
"Right across the midfield group there was a good level of consistency shown by a lot of the players - I think it should hold us in good stead going forward."
Midfielder Gibbs, who finished third in the count, was also quick to show his appreciation, acknowledging the impact Judd has had on his career since his arrival from the West Coast Eagles at the end of 2007.
"I probably wouldn't be sitting here right now if it wasn't for Chris coming across and showing us all of these qualities and his leadership," Gibbs said.
"Not only myself but a lot of the players at the club have taken so much from his work ethic and just Chris being Chris."
