Prop Christian Welch will lead Melbourne this NRL season while former bad boy Cameron Munster is among his deputies.
Welch was co-captain with Jesse Bromwich last year however spent all but one game on the sidelines after rupturing his Achilles in the opening round.
With Bromwich departing for the Dolphins, 28-year-old Welch will be the sole skipper, following in the foot-steps of club legend Cameron Smith who retired in 2020.
Munster and his halves partner Jahrome Hughes, as well as young hooker Harry Grant are his vice-captains.
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It’s a turnaround for Munster, who was cut from the side’s leadership group twice, most recently in late 2021 after being filmed partying post-season with white powder.
Having played 118 games at Melbourne since 2015, with his career also interrupted by two serious knee injuries, Welch was part of the Storm’s 2020 premiership-winning team and also featured in the 2016 and 2018 grand finals.
Storm boss Justin Rodski said Welch fully deserved the opportunity to lead the club as Melbourne’s first solo captain since Smith’s retirement.
“Christian has risen through the ranks at Storm since he first came to the club as a young man from Queensland,” Rodski said in a statement.
“As well as being a leader on the field, he is heavily involved in the game off the field, showing a great awareness of the positive differences the game can make in our community.
“We saw a great example of that earlier this year when he instigated a head shaving fundraiser which contributed $25,000 to Camp Quality.”
Melbourne’s Round 1 prospects next Thursday away to Parramatta have been dealt a massive blow with star fullback Ryan Papenhuyzen joining Justin Olam and three other key players out of action.
Papenhuyzen is likely to miss the first couple of months of the season due to his fractured kneecap from last season, Olam broke his arm in the first week of the trials, while George Jennings (illness), Tariq Sims (calf) and Marion Seve (knee) are also unavailable.
Cam
Roar Rookie
Game recognises game
Dionysus
Guest
It goes the other way as well. Billy Slater got a mentoring job with one of the AFL clubs (can't remember which one because they are all the same to me) when he retired. They were highly complementary about Bill as a leader as I recall.
Cam
Roar Rookie
Interesting side-note, the Storm will occasionally think outside of the box and look to make use of their Vic environment. They seem to have done this again, recently employing AFL great Joel Selwood as a leadership mentor. Selwood is regarded as one of the best captains in the history of Australian rules football and Welch has already mentioned his impact on the leadership group.
Albo
Roar Rookie
Yep ! The guy has a brain and a sense of humour ! Miles ahead of most leaders in the NRL !
Dionysus
Guest
"Maybe ask Gallen for tips." Asking the opposing team might be more fruitful.
Dionysus
Guest
Sensible, Welch will make a great Captain. Munster needs to continue to show that he has turned the corner, rue what could have been and hope that he gets a chance to lead the team in future years.
Cam
Roar Rookie
Great choice, the bloke is a born leader. I love that he is also invested in the game's future and put his hand up to be on the board of the Rugby League Players Association. You won't get any "full credit to the boys" speech post game, the bloke is pretty articulate, I think he has a Commerce Degree and a masters in Business Administration.
Gus O
Guest
Welsh is the club captain who demands and enforces standards and deals with media duties. Hughes organises the team. Harry is the future captain and works with Hughes to implement the game plan and adjust on the fly when required. Munster is the pot stirring smart arse who can get away with berating team mates. Almost like having 4 captains, each with complementary roles… or would that be laughable :)
JennyFromPenny
Guest
Maybe ask Gallen for tips.
The Barry
Roar Guru
I think Welch is a great appointment, but given he’s in the middle, coming off an ACL injury and only likely to play 40-odd minutes a game for a while, not sure how he can be the sole captain Wonder who gets the arm band when he’s having a breather…
Red Rob
Roar Rookie
Welch even looks like a captain. He just does. . Eddie Munster still looks like a bad boy. He’s better value off the leash anyway.