O Captain, My Captain!

[Grantysghost]

Lincoln comparisons with Marcus aside I've always had this idea that each line in a footy team should have a Captain.

We have line coaches, why not line captains?

They all form the leadership group and the overall leader and their deputy is elected from this cabinet.

So in this hypothetical world of logic you are picking the captains.

WHO would YOU pick to lead the lines and why?

We want a Forwards, Mids, and Defenders captain then from that an overall vice and big C.

Have at it.

[Rocco Jones]

Yeah NFL has captains for offence and defence but that makes sense because they are not on together.

I agree, you need leaders in the different areas. Here is my go.

Def- L Jones, soon to be JOD I think
Mids- Bont
Fwd- Naughts (hopefully matures a bit. Not a slight on him, still young)

[Grantysghost]

I'll go first (edit second Rocco is too quick!)

Defensive Captain : This is maybe the hardest line to choose. Keath is one I really like for this. He's experienced, level headed and generally a good thinker, however.....
Recently Liam Jones had leapt (sorry not sorry) into my reckoning. Anecdotally I hear often from the younger players especially what a great leader he is and he ticks all the boxes for me. Richards I forgot and have added. He was very quiet early on, but I think he's really grown and found voice and is a very physical leader in field. He has to be the dev option.

So DC (defensive captain) : Liam Jones.

I was super impressed with JOD and Buss in the recent dev academy videos so they the future in this space.

Midfield Captain : well I mean come on do I even type anything here, I mean I'm still typing now, should I stop why am I still typing. OK I'll stop, now. Now.

Midfield Captain : Bontempelli.

As an emerging leader in the midfield I think a guy like Sanders (no pressure) reeks of leadership and I'd fast track this kid into a leadership role of some variety. Treloar is someone I'd like to see do a bit more here and Libba well he leads by example as does Jacko. Personally I wouldn't have Macrae in a defined leadership role I think he prefers to just play.
English is one that also is a promising leader however maybe needs to be more vocal.
I would really love to see Baz in here as the development option. I think he is a smart kid and could really benefit from a role of responsibility, plus it might just keep him around. So I'd be giving him some time here as the second.

Forwards : A few candidates here. Naughton, Weightman I like the most. Marra has a future too. Overall though I think Naughton is the man. Big presence, physical, tough, vocal and inspiring. Does the flashy stuff and also does the one percenters.

So for me forward captain : Aaron Naughton.

Future is Weightman and Marra.

So summary I have Jones, Naughton and Bontempelli that's a pretty strong group of leaders. I'd probably want to look at bringing in a second to each and someone emerging / developing so would look at Richards, Smith, Weightman maybe.

So in this hypothetical world this is my leadership group covering the lines.

Defenders : Jones, Richards (JOD next)
Mids : Bont(C) , Smith (Baz)
Forwards : Naughton(VC), Weightman

Edit : Richards should certainly be in the reckoning for defensive as mentioned by Mantis.

[Mantis]

Defenders - Richards (with support from Jones).

Mids - Bont

Forwards - Naughts

[Grantysghost]

Yeah NFL has captains for offence and defence but that makes sense because they are not on together.

I agree, you need leaders in the different areas. Here is my go.

Def- L Jones, soon to be JOD I think
Mids- Bont
Fwd- Naughts (hopefully matures a bit. Not a slight on him, still young)

Nice! We arrived at the same!

[Grantysghost]

Defenders - Richards (with support from Jones).

Mids - Bont

Forwards - Naughts

Richards is a good one. I didn't mention him and I should have.

He'd definitely be an emerging leader in this space, and in hindsight I maybe would have chosen him over JOD.

[Grantysghost]

I've updated my post with Richards in as defensive second.

[ledge]

I think all clubs have them and have had them for years . It?s just not talked about much .
We have all seen clubs have multiple captains but in the end you need a main captain and that?s the one the media/ club announces.

[Grantysghost]

I think all clubs have them and have had them for years . It?s just not talked about much .
We have all seen clubs have multiple captains but in the end you need a main captain and that?s the one the media/ club announces.

Who would your choices be Ledge?

[SonofScray]

Club Captain: Ellie Blackburn.

Team Captain: Bont

Mid Captain: Bont

Defensive Captain: Jones

Forward Captain: Naughton

Vibe Captain: Libba

Flag Flyer: vacant

[Grantysghost]

Club Captain: Ellie Blackburn.

Team Captain: Bont

Mid Captain: Bont

Defensive Captain: Jones

Forward Captain: Naughton

Vibe Captain: Libba

Flag Flyer: vacant

Ellie I like it! She's a brilliant ambassador for the club.

Flag flyer xD

Who will fill the position?

[ledge]

Who would your choices be Ledge?

Jones I imagine up back with Duryea , mids is obviously Bont, but in saying that most of our mids are leaders , forwards is interesting would have to be Naughton, we don?t have an old experience player up forward .

[Hotdog60]

Defenders - Luke Cleary needs all the help he can get to get a game.

Mids - Anthony Scott Frees up the Bont taking on the responsibility

Forwards - Buku Khamis so he can tell Naughts he's the main man

[WBFC4FFC]

Defenders - Richards (with support from Jones).

Mids - Bont

Forwards - Naughts

This should all naturally be covered when they announce the leadership group each season.

I might be biased, having been a defender in my playing days but I note our success in 2016 had the Mes Department down back. Any side to win a flag needs resolute, uncompromising defenders, who are able to play in adverse situations as they present themselves during a game. Basically players who refuse to get beat! Having this mindset around the ground would also help.

Yep, I have gone off a tangent but like everyone else, I believe our improvement will only come from between the ears!

[weltschmerz]

We seem to do at least one player per line in the leadership group, with Naughton up forward and Duryea down back. A few years ago, Bruce and Keath seemed to be the generals in their respective lines.

This year, I'd support Naughton moving up to VC and forward line leader, with LJones as a back line captain.