Nathan van Berlo is on the road to potentially becoming Adelaide's longest serving captain.

The Crows have picked a young captain for longevity, naming the popular midfielder to replace Simon Goodwin as the club regroups after a disappointing 2010 AFL season.

Just 24 years old, van Berlo could potentially become the club's longest-serving captain if he can maintain his form and fitness, a mark currently held by Mark Ricciuto, who held the post from 2001 to 2007.

But van Berlo is only focused on the 2011 campaign.

"I'm not thinking any further ahead than next year," he said on Wednesday.

Goodwin's retirement followed a horror season for the Crows, who missed the finals for the first time since 2004.

Van Berlo acknowledges they have a challenge ahead but says the five-player leadership group have no doubt they're capable of getting back into the top eight in 2011.

Scott Stevens, Ben Rutten, Michael Doughty and Scott Thompson are the other members of the group appointed by coach Neil Craig, with Thompson the only newcomer.

"You only have to look back to the last five or six games of the year and we competed very strongly against the likes of Collingwood and St Kilda ... and that to us as a playing group shows that we are not that far off it," the on-baller said.

The new captain is "100 per cent" confident his body will be right for 2011 after recovering from a back injury.

He vowed to emulate the strong work ethics of past captains and is looking forward to the first game of the new season.

"I am sure I will be nervous, feeling a bit different to what I have been in the past, but also looking forward to the opportunity of leading the boys out there and putting in practice what we have been rehearsing all pre-season for."

Van Berlo has played 116 games for the Crows since being drafted six years ago from West Perth with pick No.24 in the national draft.

Craig says van Berlo is a natural leader who will help them regroup for 2011.

"Last year we under-performed as a team," he said.

"We've lost some ground on the competition and we need to regroup and get a healthy squad to bounce back."

Van Berlo is the AFL club's sixth captain in its 20-year history, following Chris McDermott, Tony McGuinness, Mark Bickley, Ricciuto and Goodwin.

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