THE WORD ‘awkward’ isn’t something you usually associate with Chris Judd, but the new Carlton skipper admits his elevation to captaincy roles – first at West Coast and now at Carlton – has been just that.

Judd was first thrust into the role at the Eagles after Ben Cousins was sensationally stripped of the position before the 2006 season, and just months into his tenure at MC Labour Park he was assigned the role again, despite not having played a game for the Blues.

Judd says that while the respective situations have been somewhat out of the ordinary, he is drawing inspiration from what happened in his premiership-winning debut as West Coast captain.

“It was a bit of an awkward situation when I first arrived, but if I look back to how I got the job at West Coast, it was a pretty awkward one there as well, but I was really happy at how that turned out,” Judd says.

“But I felt it was something that was really worthwhile, so I guess I reflected on that experience and that played a big part in why I decided to take it on.”

Judd’s choice of Carlton during trade week turned plenty of heads in the football community, but he says he’s been very happy with the choice so far.

“It could have been any number of clubs, but looking back I’m really happy with the choice,” he says.

“One of the big things in choosing Carlton was the amount of young kids they’ve got here, and just being able to play with them and watch their development in the years to come is going to be pretty special.

“It’s going to be exciting to play with them and have a real crack at winning games of footy.”

Despite the hype surrounding the Blues’ much-vaunted midfield, the skipper says it’s important to put some perspective into the equation.

“We’re going out there to try and win every game, but realistically that’s not going to happen,” Judd says.

“I probably haven’t gone into the year with pre-conceived ideas about how many games we’ll win or lose.

“I just think the main thing is that we really stick to the game plan we’ve come up with, and start building a foundation from that.”

Judd says his own performance expectations are “pretty low” for the moment, but he’s hoping to be operating at full capacity once he’s blown away the cobwebs.

“I think the main thing I want to do at the moment is just to get out on the park,” he says.

“Realistically, over the next four or five rounds, I’ll probably be more of a bit-part player through the midfield.”