Geelong key forward Jeremy Cameron was gobsmacked at Thursday night's AFL awards night when he was made captain of the All-Australian team.
As he said on stage, it's the first time he has captained any team in his life.
When Lance "Buddy" Franklin was made All-Australian captain in 2018 - also without captaining Sydney or Hawthorn - he was asked what his message would be if the honorary team somehow had a pre-game huddle.
Franklin memorably replied "kick it to me", which Cameron respects. But the Cats spearhead would want a different role.
"That' (Franklin's instruction) is pretty fair - I wouldn't even put myself out in the starting lineup, I don't think - too many good players," Cameron told AAP.
"I'd almost just sit on the sidelines and enjoy what's going on out there. There's some incredible talent in the side."
Indeed, within seconds of the announcement, Cameron said he'd keep Sydney ace Isaac Heeney out of the midfield to fully exploit his danger as a goalsneak.
He also suspects one teammate closer to home might be a handful.
"Captaining 'Baz' would be quite difficult, I imagine," he joked of fellow Geelong All-Australian Bailey Smith.
Cameron said he found out about the captaincy "when everyone else did".
"I had no idea - otherwise I probably wouldn't have come. I nearly fell off my chair," he said.
"Then I just had to string two or three words together up there."
Fellow Geelong players Patrick Dangerfield (2020) and Tom Hawkins ('22) were two other All-Australians who were made captain without having the role that season at their club.
It is Cameron's fifth All-Australian selection and he is also the Coleman Medallist for the second time as the AFL's top goalkicker.
He will be one of Geelong's most important players in the finals campaign, which could feature up to four games depending on results.
So, at 83 goals, does he try to become the first player since Franklin in 2008 to kick the ton?
"No, I don't," Cameron said.
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