Blues will review Murphy’s captaincy

Brendon Bolton has pressed the reset button at Carlton and it remains to be seen whether Marc Murphy will be the Blues’ skipper after the new AFL coach has completed his reboot of the wooden spooners.

Murphy, 28, has skippered the side for the past three seasons after taking over from Chris Judd but will need to get the nod from Bolton if he is to continue in the role in 2016.

“I’m really open-minded at this stage,” Bolton said of Murphy’s captaincy on Monday.

“As I said ‘It’s a real reset’. I want to be able to feel the leadership – look at it, view it, celebrate it and analyse it.

“At the moment I’m really open.”

Carlton have already welcomed 15 new players, including No.1 draft pick Jacob Weitering, and turned over nearly their entire coaching panel after their disastrous 2015 campaign.

Bolton promised a united front on and off the field as he sets about the task of guiding the Blues back up the ladder, but admitted there will be growing pains.

“It’s a journey – at times we’ll be going fast and straight but sometimes there will be some twists and turns,” he said.

“It is a reset, it does feel like a new club and there’s a lot of energy at the moment, but the siren hasn’t gone and the ball hasn’t been bounced yet.

“We know it’s going to be a lot of hard work.” With four picks inside the top 20 at this year’s draft, Bolton has the raw materials at his disposal to mould the team to his vision.

Weitering promises to form the cornerstone of Bolton’s back six for the next decade but the former Dandenong Stingray isn’t entertaining thoughts of a round one AFL debut just yet.

“It’s been a real whirlwind over the past few weeks and I can’t worry about next year,” Weitering said.

“I’m still trying to enjoy the moment being at an AFL club. I’ll just concentrate on getting to Christmas, making sure the body and mind is right, and just go from there.”

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