Carey told the Sunday Herald Sun Petrie should be next in line should Brent Harvey relinquish the role next season.
“I would love to be captain of North Melbourne and have the batten handed to me from Boomer (Brent Harvey) if he chooses to step down,” Petrie told kangaroos.com.au exclusively.
“He’s (Carey) the greatest player of all time…for him to say that is a nice pat on the back. It’s good to know that he still watches North Melbourne and watches you play. It gives me a real buzz that he’s still in touch and has his opinion.”
Never afraid to voice that opinion, Carey was confident All-Australian Petrie would continue to steer the Kangaroos in the right direction.
“Looking from afar, like everyone else, I think Drew Petrie would be the obvious successor to Brent Harvey," Carey said.
"He had a fantastic year last year and showed leadership qualities, and from what I do know of him around the club, he's a great leader.
"If 'Boomer' wanted to keep it, I wouldn't see any reason why they would take it off him, but I think sometimes it's a good thing to play your last year, or last couple of years the way he's going, without the burden of the captaincy."
Petrie, now 29-years old, said he didn’t expect the comments, but gladly accepts them.
“I picked up the paper and didn’t expect that article to be in there. It means a whole lot coming from him…it means huge amount and shows that some people from the outside think what you’re doing is good.”
When Adam Simpson stepped down at the end of 2008, Harvey and Petrie were the obvious replacements. While a player and staff vote gave Harvey the nod, Petrie happily accepted the vice-captain position but has never given up on his dream to lead in his own right.
“Since playing here I’ve had four amazing captains; Duck (Carey), Stevo (Anthony Stevens), Simmo (Adam Simpson) and Boomer, all guys with amazing leadership capabilities and traits which I’d use if I got the job.
“Boomer is a realist and will do whatever is best for the club. I’m the same. You don’t need a title to become a leader. After a certain number of years you naturally take on and accept more responsibility and have to become more than just a player. Your responsibilities go up regardless of what your title is.
“You just try to remember what you learned as a youngster and impart a bit of that knowledge onto them and guide them as best you can.”
And Carey remembers when Drew was one of those youngsters.
"He (Petrie) was a little pup when I was there, but he's certainly grown into a very mature footballer. He'd be my choice.
"He grabs the game with both hands and he's certainly won games for them…He has the ability not only on the field, but at training and everything else to lead from the front and win games, which I think is a big quality."
