Ling new Geelong captain

[Ando727]

ling was the safe choice. i'd personally have preferred selwood as i'd love the cats to have a 10 year captain in the mould of hird/voss/buckley etc, but with a team still in its premiership window ling is a very safe bet and he's led the team often enough that the captaincy won't be a burden at all.

to those saying ablett should have been captain, he would have struggled to make my top 10 candidates. and to those suggesting that it has any relevance to him not being there next year, the choice was an entirely player-driven process

The problem with 10 year captains is that they become a bit too important in defining a club. What happens when that player retires or gets forced out of the game? A period of loss of identity and confusion can set in. Also, what happens if this player who the club revolves around goes through a form slump or has a long term injury? Are you somehow obliged to pick a captain of 8 or 9 years because he is so important to the club's culture? If yes, it's bad for the team. If no, it's destabilising.

I think it's better to have roughly 3-4 year captains. With constant turnover, the captain doesn't become too central to the workings of the team. The captain's role should never become too important. Also, ten year captains have to start off very young and probably won't have earned the respect of the older members of the team. A captain should have unquestioned seniority in the team.

Just my 2c..

 

[pinion]

you might be right. it's not something i'd do just for the sake of it, but selwood was ready for the role. if you blacked out the 'date of birth' column on the team sheet i think he's have been the man to go to

 

[Omen]

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/88803/default.aspx

I know I'll be told to take this to the Geelong board, but I'd like to see what opposition supporters think of our appointment.

Ling has the respect of virtually everyone in the football world - but should we have given the captaincy to Selwood or even Ablett (who has stated he would like to captain the club one day) given the lures from GC17 and GWS?

FWIW I am extremely happy with the appointment

Sooner they make Selwood captain the better, otherwise he might not be there in a few years; More then happy to have him as Captain of Melbourne

 

[Lazarus]

Geelong of years bygone may have dangled a carrot, but not the current regime. Ling is the right man, and Selwood is probably his successor.

 

[shintemaster]

Only query is that Ling's form last season wasn't up to his usual standard. If he backs that up this year it might be a short captaincy.

 

[Barnzy]

Only query is that Ling's form last season wasn't up to his usual standard. If he backs that up this year it might be a short captaincy.

While it wasn't his usual his top-notch stuff, it was perfectly acceptable and he still do a lot of very good shutdown roles on good players. You don't need to be a superstar to be a good captain.

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

Only query is that Ling's form last season wasn't up to his usual standard. If he backs that up this year it might be a short captaincy.

He obliterated Dane Swan in the pf and, as has been mentioned, had a very good gf. At some stage over the coming years he will probably slot into a forward pocket, where he will be very dangerous. Maybe he was down a bit, but his form as a tagger in 2010 was probably only equalled by Clinton Jones and it'd be a brave man who'd take Jones ahead of Ling as a tagger for a match, if their life depended on the outcome.

 

[FoxC]

He obliterated Dane Swan in the pf and, as has been mentioned, had a very good gf. At some stage over the coming years he will probably slot into a forward pocket, where he will be very dangerous. Maybe he was down a bit, but his form as a tagger in 2010 was probably only equalled by Clinton Jones and it'd be a brave man who'd take Jones ahead of Ling as a tagger for a match, if their life depended on the outcome.

Fully agreed, Ling will be our weapon in a forward pocket given his dead-eye shooting for goal and he played full forward at the Falcons.

This question may be for another day but who would replace Cameron as our main tagger when Ling permanently plays forward? Wasn't Callan groomed to play such a role before he was traded?

 

[MC Extra Dollop]

This question may be for another day but who would replace Cameron as our main tagger when Ling permanently plays forward? Wasn't Callan groomed to play such a role before he was traded?

James Kelly has all the attributes. He'd be my pick. Varcoe could also develop into a very tough tagger over the next couple of years.