Why do we choose such horrible captains?

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verypoorboy

verypoorboy

All Australian
Veteran
Sep 1, 2007
859
879
Melbourne
AFL Club
North Melbourne
Looking at LMac today and truthfully for a while now been making me shake my head and wonder how does a player like that manage to be named in this side, let alone be the captain of the club? No skill, slow, clumsy & not a single inspirational or clutch bone in his body…

Then I got to thinking it’s been a long, long time since we actually DID have a captain that you could trust to stamp & impose himself all over a match. Which is why it was such a shocker to see Simpkin actually play well last wk, when it mattered, because it’s simply so, so rare for him & for this club to see that. When in fact, it’s something you should ‘expect’ from your skipper to lift his team time and time again, and not something as rare as spotting bigfoot.

Swallow>Ziebell>Simpkin/McDonald

Basically 3.5 captains in a row that have either been whipping boys and/or don’t really play/lead in a way that inspires the team to win.

Question is why do we always choose such mediocre/uninspirational captains? We’ve never in recent history had a Dawson, a Touk Miller or even a Zach Merrett that you know will come through for you in the crunch or will take a game by the scruff of the neck.
Seems like we just choose the ‘nice guy’ or one of ‘the boys’.

Would argue that Boomer was our last decent one, not because he was big in stature or anything. But he was dynamic/skillful and can make plays/kick goals that really lift the team. Don’t see that in any of the last 4 captains.
If you lack the skill and flair, then you gotta have at least a bit of intensity or fire. But haven’t seen it in recent choices either.

How can this captain issue be solved moving forward do we don’t end up with another LMac leading this club?
 
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koshari said:
Pretty obvious, sheezle who is captain by proxy atm anyway. Jy i think your being a bit unfair on, its obvious he has had his own chalkenges but is capable when on.
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Yeah Jy is definitely the better of the two and it was nice that he stood up against WC. Have no idea why LMac is captain.

Think Sheezel is the future captain.
 

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If you speak to anyone who'd know, Harvey wasn't actually a good captain. Great player, of course.

Ziebell had Tarrant, Higgins, Cunnington and himself was a leader who played the game the way you want a captain to play. Fierce, serious, impactful in big games etc. And he was overall a good player.
 
Epictetus said:
If you speak to anyone who'd know, Harvey wasn't actually a good captain. Great player, of course.

Ziebell had Tarrant, Higgins, Cunnington and himself was a leader who played the game the way you want a captain to play. Fierce, serious, impactful in big games etc. And he was overall a good player.
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Yeah, not saying Boomer was ‘great’ by any stretch. Just saying he was ‘decent’ as in okay. Like a ‘C+’ on a school report.

Ziebell had courage sure. But he wasn’t a good captain. Made bad decisions, turnover merchant which really kills momentum for his team, clumsy as hell and was never even a top 50 player in the league at any stage of his career (which is 100% not a requirement, but if you’re going to fall short in other areas then at least be one of the top players in the league).

Also his courage was never in question. But was he all that ‘fierce’ though? I don’t think so.
Is he the type that was going to get into the teams face, bully them with arrogance like a Voss, Hodge, Selwood, Archer or type? Or even Maxwell who wasn’t a great footballer but was fierce and would get all up in your face.

Ziebell was never that.
 
I don't think the captaincy is going to be an issue in coming seasons, I've heard Larkey, Wardlaw, Sheezel and even Comben mentioned as potential leaders in the last few weeks.
 
DEVO said:
I don't think the captaincy is going to be an issue in coming seasons, I've heard Larkey, Wardlaw, Sheezel and even Comben mentioned as potential leaders in the last few weeks.
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I’d be very happy with that as a leadership group next year. Perhaps with the addition of Simpkin.
Personally for me, Larkey for captain next year with Sheezel vice. Longer term I think Sheezel.
 
If we stick with two captains again next year then its Larkey and Ldu (if he stays) otherwise Larkey as captain.
Two Vice Captains Sheezel and Wardlaw
 

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Leadership group next year should be: Larkey, Simpkin, LDU, Sheezel, Wardlaw, Comben, Xerri. Would like Larkey and Simpkin co-captaincy. Nothing wrong with co-captains, swans have had 3 captains for 20 years. You just can't have McDonald as your captain, would love to have LDU as captain but don't think he'd want it
 
verypoorboy said:
Yeah, not saying Boomer was ‘great’ by any stretch. Just saying he was ‘decent’ as in okay. Like a ‘C+’ on a school report.

Ziebell had courage sure. But he wasn’t a good captain. Made bad decisions, turnover merchant which really kills momentum for his team, clumsy as hell and was never even a top 50 player in the league at any stage of his career (which is 100% not a requirement, but if you’re going to fall short in other areas then at least be one of the top players in the league).

Also his courage was never in question. But was he all that ‘fierce’ though? I don’t think so.
Is he the type that was going to get into the teams face, bully them with arrogance like a Voss, Hodge, Selwood, Archer or type? Or even Maxwell who wasn’t a great footballer but was fierce and would get all up in your face.

Ziebell was never that.
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JZ wasn’t a great captain, but who should it have been? Petrie? Then who?
 
Devil Fish said:
This dual captaincy is rubbish. And the fact it’s player driven is rubbish.

Sort it out Clarko - this is why you’re on the big bucks.
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Couldn't agree more. I'd like Larkey to be captain next year as there is no need to put that sort of pressure on Sheezel in he's third year though he is definitely a captain in waiting.
 
At one point even Zuurhar could have taken his claim to being captain material if he continued on building on his momentum from two years ago. But that came to a crashing hault.

With Larkey, obviously top favourite in my books too but do we want our main goal kicker not only worrying ball inside delivery, but also worrying about what else is happening up and all over the ground?
 
We haven't won a game all year and our best young leader of the last five years comes back and plays a BOG game that includes two clutch goals in the last quarter. A captain's game if you like and people are putting him in their leadership groups as an afterthought.

FKNLOL
 
Up there with Bye Bye threads


over it whatever GIF
 
LB2Snake said:
JZ wasn’t a great captain, but who should it have been? Petrie? Then who?
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Should’ve been Tarrant.

Elite and one of the best defenders in the entire league for many years. Highly respected. Composed. Great decision maker and much better footy IQ than Ziebell - who was just a ball butcher and overall one of the worst on-field decision makers I’ve ever seen.

And you could also say he was every bit just as courageous as JZ is on the field (which was Ziebell’s biggest selling point to most peeps defending him), but Taz has it in spades, without all the added shortcomings.
 
Daniltchenko You Beauty said:
The players vote for it? Why would they choose players who aren’t the best leaders?
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Because it ends up being a popularity contest. It’s like entrusting a bunch of schoolkids to vote for school captain. You think they’ll vote for their mates/person they like or the nerdy guy that’ll actually be adequate at the job?

Now, now, before you start saying they’re adults and not schoolkids, thus will much smarter and calculated with their votes. Just remember these are ‘footballers’ we’re talking about.
 
Frankly we haven't had a lot of great options, there was a bit of a void in personnel due to the aborted list build during the 2010s. Jack Ziebell was just about the only choice with how few good senior players we had left, and Ben Cunnington and Todd Goldstein's lack of interest in being leaders at the club, although I actually do agree that Robbie Tarrant might've been a better choice.

Jy was the right choice for captain coming into 2023 - that's why we went with co-captains even though Luke McDonald actually won the captaincy by a single vote when it was put to the players - but he's failed to back up his dual Syd Barker form since being given the role (for some very understandable reasons).

Anyway, now the list looks to be turning a corner and we've got a few good choices coming through. As I see it, these are the candidates for the captaincy next year. I'm not including any teenagers, although as we all know there's already a couple of potential captains among that group. And I'm not a fan of co-captains, so this is only considering how good a choice they'd be as solo captain.

Jy Simpkin
Still the best choice in my opinion. Showed against West Coast that despite everything that's happened to him he's still an absolute gun and embodies the best values of this football club - sets the tone with his hardness and can do freakishly skilled things too. I'm proud of North's long history with indigenous footballers even before it was a popular thing to have them in your side, and I think it's meaningful that he's our first indigenous captain. I'd like to see him given an extended stint at it, solo.
On the other hand, he can be a bit hot and cold and he tends to do stupid things like give away frees or even get suspended for unnecessary acts of aggression. And despite all the very justified excuses, he still has yet to recapture his best footy for an extended period. The West Coast game was a much-needed return to form but I might need to see him back it up before he's the only choice in my mind.

Nick Larkey
Undeniably would be a very good and obvious choice for the captaincy. Probably our most well-known and celebrated player outside of the club, as of right now our only All-Australian, and a player who consistently acts as an on-field leader, not just to his brigade of young forwards, but other players too. Consistently sets the tone and lifts us with his great goals, uncanny accuracy and hard work getting up the ground. He's also a great media character and brings much-needed attention and popularity to our club.
I would like to see him completely get the whinging at umpires out of his game before he gets the captaincy, it's just not a good look and it sets a poor example for young players. He's also shown that he doesn't really need the captaincy to be a great leader, and as a key forward he doesn't have as much ability to put the side on his back in a time of need the way a stoppage midfielder does.

Luke Davies-Uniacke
I've been of the "great player, but not a leader" camp in the past, and I still think this is true to an extent. I don't need to say anything about his on-field prowess as a player, we all know what he brings and he's completely delivering on the high pick investment. But in the past few weeks I'm starting to come around a bit to him as a leader. He's still clearly a quiet, unassuming type of guy who just goes about his business and maybe looks to others to be leaders, but he's been relied upon to lead a very young midfield brigade in the absence of Jy Simpkin and he looks to be flourishing. He's starting to develop a sense for when to come to the aid of a teammate with encouragement, or even a bake, and he's also improved on his defensive efforts (or non-efforts, as they were) which have drawn the ire of myself and others in the past. I just can't believe the reports he's thinking about leaving, with how his passion for the club and his excitement at the development of young midfield group around him has been plain to see in the last few weeks.
What he's shown this year is that he is probably our best player and we're going to get a consistently excellent output from him, which is always valuable in a captain. As much as anyone, he's shown that he's willing to be the one to put the club on his back and drag it back up to where it belongs, and if he wants it, he deserves to be considered for the captaincy.

The Left Field:

Tristan Xerri
Fast becoming a fan favourite, known league wide and becoming acknowledged as one of the best ruckmen in the league. He's shown that he can work well with the developing midfield group and he's in the right age bracket to do it for many years to come. He's such a different player to Todd Goldstein, who is a very hard act to follow. where Goldy was a hit-out to advantage artisan who played like a slick outside midfielder when the ball hit the deck, X is an absolute wrecking ball who uses his physical dominance to overcome opposition ruckmen and midfielders alike, but maybe lacks a touch of precision when it comes to hitouts (although that has been improving). Another one who sets the tone with his refusal to give up. He's also developing a great presence around the ground by adding marks and goals to his game where that had been a weak point in the past, and working back to help out the defenders by intercepting or knocking it through for a behind, being able to stand up wherever the play is and make an impact is a great quality for a captain to have. If we want our identity as a club to be that we're feared by the opposition for our toughness, X would be a great choice to set that example from the top.
A possible downside is that like Jy, he has a proclivity for brain fades and giving away stupid free kicks, although he's been better on that this year. As good as his season has been, it's still his first year as number one ruck, so I'd need to see a couple more years of this to be sure he'd be a good choice.

Charlie Comben
Extreme fan favourite. Seeing him put together the season he has to date has been incredibly cathartic for all of us long-term Chom believers, going from perennially tragically injured and looking like he might just never make it to now being talked about one of the most promising young key defenders in the league, with some really impressive stats to back it up. He just looks like a leader back there, setting the tone with strong intercept marks, frenetic attack on the ball, exciting run setting up rebounding play, and even giving bakes to guys like Luke McDonald and Aidan Corr who are meant to be leading him.
He's also a remarkably humble and personable guy, a great speaker and seems to genuinely love and appreciate the supporters. That's the kind of guy who I would want to see as a representative of our club. Like with X, It's still early days and there's always the ugly possibility that his injury woes aren't entirely over, but who wouldn't be proud to follow Charlie out onto the field with his toughness and skill and everything he's had to overcome to get here?
 
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Answer: Players are obviously terrible judges.
 
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