Do we need a new captain?

[Sttew]

Hawthorn has gone with Hodge, the club's "spiritual" leader, even though Sam Mitchell was a good captain.

Should Geelong bite the bullet and affirm Joel Selwood as its new captain? New coach, new captain, new beginning?

Ling is no certainty to play every game, if his form towards the end of 2010 was any indication. Then again, the word is he was carrying a broken foot. Either way, he needs to be able to focus on what he does best, tagging. Don't get me wrong, I love Lingy. He is Geelong through and through.

 

[SriLankanCat]

I think give Lingy one more year. And then give it to Selwood. In this day and age i dont see captains being there for the long term. I think most captains would give it say 3 years and then pass the baton. After next year Selwood would haev been there for 5 years meaning he would haev done his apprentice ship

 

[you pick one]

Love lingy to but yes Joel for me.

 

[thejester]

Nope.

The arguments about the game being too fast for him are way overblown and even during the Harley years his leadership was undeniable; captained us to some of our best wins.

Did he look slow? The whole side looked slow. Only have to go back to the Qualifying Final to see why he's captain and why he should stay in the team.

EDIT: And while this time last year I was onboard the 'Selwood is next in line bandwagon' I've fallen off now. If you see the captaincy as being as much about presenting a good off field image as it is onfield leadership (which over the last few years hasn't been about who wears the C, anyway) then I'd rather give it to Bartel. He's articulate, universally regarded as a top bloke and why saddle a 23yr old with the responsibility anyway?

 

[Bring back Moloney]

I love Ling, but I really wish that they'd give the C to Selwood now.

New coach & new captain to hopefully lead us through the next decade.

I've got nothing against Ling, he's a brilliant leader, but I just reckon it's the perfect time to hand the reigns over. The last thing a captain needs is question marks hanging over his head all year about his spot in the team. Let him concentrate on staying fit & playing the best footy he can.

 

[Vdubs]

Bartel, Captain
Kelly, Selwood deputies
If Selwood stays beyond 2012, he should then get the captaincy.
Ling is a brilliant Geelong man but as Sttew says, may struggle to get a weekly selection
Bartel was captain of the Falcons team that boasted Ablett and Hodge and did well, IIRC.

Mitchell is about to father twins, so fair time to hand over.

Lingy appears to be the sort of guy to know if he should hand over or continue, so we may have to trust his judgement. One year is a brief tenure. But if he does hand over, yes, Bartel for me. Perfect stage of his career.

 

[Sttew]

Bartel, Captain
Kelly, Selwood deputies
If Selwood stays beyond 2012, he should then get the captaincy.
Ling is a brilliant Geelong man but as Sttew says, may struggle to get a weekly selection
Bartel was captain of the Falcons team that boasted Ablett and Hodge and did well, IIRC.

Mitchell is about to father twins, so fair time to hand over.

Lingy appears to be the sort of guy to know if he should hand over or continue, so we may have to trust his judgement. One year is a brief tenure. But if he does hand over, yes, Bartel for me. Perfect stage of his career.

Not a bad idea. I have vivid memories of Bartel kissing the Geelong logo on his jersey after kicking the winning point v Hawthorn in 2009. He represents everything about the modern Geelong side.

I would hate to think, though, that Selwood has only signed until end of 2011 because he may be contemplating a move to GWS.

 

[Pure_Ownage]

As a leader Lingy is second to none, so if it was purely about that I would never think of taking the captaincy off him (until he retires).

However the problem is based on his body in the second half of 2010, he is very close to the edge of our best 22, and I fear the second half of 2011 we are going to be in a position where we are going to have to keep playing a guy who is no longer in our best 22 (not in terms of talent and heart, but in terms of being a physical liability), simply because we can't drop him because he's our captain, and if we are in the upper reaches of the ladder at the time, this will pose a real problem.

So personally if I was Scott, and I wanted to select the side purely on merit (i.e. form and fitness) I would be inclined to take the captaincy off him...but it is a very big call to do that and may cause internal issues. I suspect he'll be allowed to keep the captaincy for one more year on the understanding that he retires in 12 months time.

 

[Vdubs]

Not a bad idea. I have vivid memories of Bartel kissing the Geelong logo on his jersey after kicking the winning point v Hawthorn in 2009. He represents everything about the modern Geelong side.

I would hate to think, though, that Selwood has only signed until end of 2011 because he may be contemplating a move to GWS.

That said about Selwood, I would not think it right to hand over the captaincy NOW to keep him here. We didn't do it for Ablett, and Colbert didn't hang around to ever captain a game.

Won't be a popular opinion, but I don't foresee a lot more improvement in Selwood.

 

[i_need_a_pencil]

I love the suggestions for Jimmy to get captain! The two things I want for Jimmy is for him to at one point be captain, and get a B&F - thats my man crush wishes right there.

As for the question of Lingy.... if tagging doesn't work for him this year, because he can't keep up, I'm personally not for the whole 'put him in the forward line' thing, just because we have better options. So if he can't tag, I don't think he is our best 22, which would led me to think handing over the captaincy is a smart move.

Having said that.... I don't think it'll ever happen, not this year anyway.

 

[Vdubs]

Thinking about this, I still feel it would be insulting for the likes of Bartel, Kelly, Chappy to have Selwood as Captain already. Ling is diplomatically correct but gametime actuality may prove to be a worse case scenario than Harley was at times

 

[STC]

Sorry, I love Lingy, but I just don't think we can continue to have a captain who may very well be outside our best 22 now. It's just not viable. I think we have to give Selwood the gong - he is the future and he deserves the reward. Let Lingy concentrate on his football. And I don't by any means think that not being the captain will preclude him from continuing to have a strong leadership role at the club - that is the role of every senior player, regardless of their position.

 

[CatFan79]

Thinking about this, I still feel it would be insulting for the likes of Bartel, Kelly, Chappy to have Selwood as Captain already

I dont agree with the "captaincy based on years of service" way of thinking. I think the selection of Ling was a reward for service. We all love the guy and what he's done for the club but either Selwood or Ablett should have been given it.

I might be in a minority here but a captain's most important leadership has to be shown on the ground. He needs to be in the top 3 players in the team, not a guy that is arguably not in the 22.

Ling is diplomatically correct but gametime actuality may prove to be a worse case scenario than Harley was at times

When Ling is getting dragged consistently at crucial times in games like Harley was then we'll run a comparison. But I agree, Ling is starting to struggle.

 

[costanza23]

I'm starting to think that we do need a new captain. Lingy isn't a full-time midfielder anymore. Now that Rooke's gone, he'll be given the defensive half forward role (which he played pretty well in his return match in Round 22 against West Coast and kept Hurn pretty quiet while kicking 2 goals himself - I think it was too late in the season to persist with the experiment with him in that role though). So having to adapt to a new role and no guarantee of getting a game may effect both Lingy's and Scott's decision.

People keep saying Selwood for captain and use the evidence that Carey got it when he was 21 or 22, but I just don't like the idea.
I also didn't like this year's leadership group of having no designated vice's and deputy-vice's or whatever.

After seeing Bartel in many media roles this year, namely 7s pre-Grand Final broadcast, made me think he'd be ideal as our next captain. He seems more confident when he speaks on these shows now than when he did many years ago (it was more of joke coz he'd say 'yeh defily' and roll out the cliches) and just has that smart and composed Tom Harley about himself.

My ideal leadership group for 2011 would probably look like:
Bartel - Captain
Kelly & Selwood - Vice-Captains
Enright, Taylor and S. Johnson in the group

Bartel's 27 next year, he'll have it for 2-3 years and then everyone can shut up coz The Timber Merchant will finally get it.

 

[STC]

I think Jimmy would be a worthy captain - he and Selwood are our most inspirational guys. Either would be great skippers. Selwood's is a longer term option, but I love them both.

 

[pocketROCKET]

Not a bad idea. I have vivid memories of Bartel kissing the Geelong logo on his jersey after kicking the winning point v Hawthorn in 2009. He represents everything about the modern Geelong side.

I would hate to think, though, that Selwood has only signed until end of 2011 because he may be contemplating a move to GWS.

I think the moment you're talking about was when Jimmeh kicked a masive 50+m goal in the final qtr. at night vs Hawthorn in Rd. 17 2008.

The point after siren was a day game in '09.

Interesting aside however, it was Joel Selwood who handballed him the ball before he kicked the 'Logo-Kissing' goal.

As for Selwood, I can't ever see him leaving the Cattery. His prescence at the post-Ablett Press Conference was an early sign of this.

 

[Beth]

I'm not sure Jimmy would be a good off field captain. Theres a hell of a lot of off field stuff that captains are obligated to do and I just don't see Jimmy doing them as he seems like such a reserved bloke. Lingy thrives in front of a camera, making speeches and all the associated guff. Leave Lingy there for another year until Joel matures a bit more.

 

[longtimecat]

Give Joel a five year contract and the captaincy now!

 

[CatTricks]

Jimmy FTW!!!

 

[AM]

Linger has been a good leader and not only as skipper, but the time is right for change. I was hoping he would take the initiative and step aside as he's no longer a walk up start as a player. Certainly not in the mid field due to his lack of pace and the redefined interpretation of the holding the man rule. Maybe there's a role for him in the forward half. We have a ready made leader in waiting in Joel S and a need to be taking a longer perspective so I think it's the right time for change.

 

[ROCKETT24]

I think Linga's the rihgt person for the job for 2011. After that id Give Jimmy 2 years...then hand it over to Selwood. for 4 or 5.

Everyone goes on about the game bieng beyond him...even when he was younger...amazingly, he still performs great.

1 change in decision and all of the sudden Ling is the hero in our 2010 QF, which would most likely have led to another GF.


I was very happy when Ling was made Captain and would still like him to be. A do or die, bleed blue & white Geelong Person. Just what we need right now.

 

[Smarty_]

Personally, I don't think Scott will be to keen to come straight in and strip the captaincy off Ling. He won't want to be seen making hasty, rash decisions that may cause disharmony at the club.

I think he'll tread a little carefully in his first year. I believe he'll make massive changes at the end of season 2011. I think he'll give Milburn, Mooney, Ottens, Ling and maybe Wojinski the tap on the shoulder. Even if Ling does get another contract, he'll almost certainly be stripped of the Captaincy.

Its a big ask for a first time young rookie coach like Scott to just come in and within weeks change captains. Scott is a very, very smart man and he knows Ling is a massive cult figure down in Geelong and is very popular with all. I do agree that Ling should be replaced with Selwood and I wish in a way that Ling would have taken it upon himself and personally resigned. But holding Sel back for another year isn't going to kills us. In 2012 we'll see a far different side than what we are seeing now and with Sel as skipper

 

[ATSAM]

Well Scott could be like our lats Coach(won't give him the credit of a name) and rip the guts out of us by taking the Captaincy of the spiritual leader and giving it to an unknown quantity eg Stephen King. That didn't work and the next Captain wasn't chosen by him. That turned out all right and funnily enough Harley was a good player but not a great one but he represented the club beautifully.
Leave Ling there he leads on and off the field and his pure Geelong.
Selwood has not shown that he is yet a Leader. Might be a good player, didn't do much in the finals, but not yet a Leader.

 

[vinum coupe]

Selwood is obviously a leader. Go watch the 09 GF again for what he did at half time.

Having said that, I don't like making calls on who should be skipper as I have no idea how each player is perceived by their peers.

 

[Smarty_]

Selwood is obviously a leader. Go watch the 09 GF again for what he did at half time.

Having said that, I don't like making calls on who should be skipper as I have no idea how each player is perceived by their peers.

I was just going to respond with the exact same thing. If Selwood isn't a true leader, I don't know who is. He has nothing more to prove in the way of leadership. You'd be hard pressed to find someone more respected internally than this guy.