The Storm have confirmed Christian Welch and Jesse Bromwich as co-captains for the 2022 season, with the former stepping into the role for the first time.
Bromwich, who will depart the Storm for NRL newcomers the Dolphins at season's end, was appointed as a successor to Storm great Cameron Smith as captain of the Victorian club last year, sharing the duties with Dale Finucane.
The veteran forward will continue to split the captaincy, with star prop Welch joining Bromwich at the helm.
"I’m very thankful to Craig and Frank for entrusting me with the captaincy again this season," Bromwich said on the announcement.
“It’s a role I cherish and really enjoyed last year, although we didn’t have the ending we were after.
“It is something unusual to have two front-rowers captaining a team but I believe the different qualities we can bring to the positions will really assist us as the season rolls on.
“I’m sure Christian will prove to be a great captain of Storm and I’m looking forward to the contributions we can make to the club’s on and off-field efforts in 2022.”
Welch has played 117 games in purple since making his debut in 2015, playing a key role in the club's premiership-winning campaign in 2020.
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The 27-year-old adds a vocal presence to the Storm's attacking pack, with the Queensland representative expressing his delight to be appointed as the shared skipper of Melbourne.
"I’ve been fortunate to be part of this club for a decade now. It’s been a huge part of my life,” Welch said.
"Being captain, especially alongside Jesse, is a great honour and it was something of a surprise to be asked by Craig to do the job this year.
“Storm puts on a lot of onus on developing our leadership skills and I feel like I’m really well prepared to step into the role from round one next week.”
The Storm will open their 2022 season against the Wests Tigers on Saturday, March 12 at CommBank Stadium.
