Siegfried wrote:
I think Hawthorn is an interesting model for us to follow.
They had two 'captains in waiting'...Hodge and Mitchell, yet went for the unfashinable Vandenberg instead. Hasn't done the club, nor Hodge or Mitchell, any harm. And remember, both Hodge and Mitchell were further advanced than Murphy and Gibbs when that decision was made (and Hawthorn still maintains that it will probably only be for next year that those guys are ready to become captain, and they are both best and fairest winners, Hodge an All-Australian, and Mitchell will be one by the end of this season).
Murphy and Gibbs are both 'captains in waiting'. Let them wait. Let them play. Let them develop, even if it means having a 'Vandenberg' type as captain in the meantime. While we will never know what the alternative might bave produced, Hawthorn's patience and restraint sees them as a legitimate top four contender a year, or possibly two, before that was anticiapted, and Hodge and Mitchell are stars.
Remember also all those who suggested Murphy should have been made captain for this season. Well, Murphy has neough on his plate learing the game, and how to break a tag, the last thing he would have needed on top of this was the pressure of captaincy.
Stevens will be captain next year (and IMHO will be a very good captrain). If Whitnall is out for games this year, rotate it through the leadership group, give them a game each, a taste, without the burden for more than a week.
I think that's a very good post. Except from memory, Hodge actually came out and said "I'm not ready". Gibbs is 18 and Murphy is still 19 (I think). I would be giving it to Stevens for 2-3 years, and if necessary, Fev for a couple of years after that.