Leadership traits of an AFL club Captain

Without wanting to start another ‘who should be captain this year’ thread, I thought it would be interesting to get posters views on what they think the captain's role and responsibilities in the modern game now are. 

With so many coaching staff and a beefed up Football Department this year, there are plenty of role models for the whole team to look up to and learn from to improve behaviours and actions, principles and values. With this is mind, is it fair to assume the captain's job is becoming more field/game only related, or is it still an all encompassing role that is integral to the footy department?

But first, on last season …

I’ve found it interesting that many posters are so quick to give opinions on the club captain's leadership ability – namely Brad Green. Fair to say that Brad didn’t have too many admirers during 2011 in this regard and given he had a shocker of a year performance-wise and the club did not live up to expectations, he’s found himself in the gun, labelled as ineffective, and the wrong choice for captain. 

Becoming captain more often than not means that the majority of your focus is now on your team-mates and their overall performance as opposed to your own individual output. 

It’s quite possible this may have been the catalyst for Brad’s mediocre year, coupled with some other distracting issues. 

However, on the other side of the coin, is the case with Jack Grimes being awarded the RBJ Leadership award for 2011. 

After managing only 6 games before succumbing to injury, how can this be so given that on-field performance is the most common variable to go by in regards to leadership credentials? 

In fact, he and Trengove now have similar games under their belt, albeit JT more consistently.

I for one do not believe in the theory that there are “born leaders”. For me, leadership is something that is learnt, it’s a skill that needs to be practiced regularly to become effective at it. But in saying that, I also believe there are certain characteristics and traits possessed by individuals that allow them to be better leaders than others. When looked at in a sporting sense, and in this case Australian Rules Football, these traits and characteristics are witnessed mostly on the field during a match and I believe this is where most supporters opinions are formed on who would be the most suitable captain at MFC.

Then of course are Mark Neeld’s comments about the leadership group that suggest he will make a decision based upon training and pre-season competition.

“It will be determined by their behaviours and actions over the pre-season," he said.

Obviously he has a set of criteria that will be met by individuals that would indicate their suitability as captain/s.

So, what is it that is so important for an AFL club  captain to show on and off the field? What does leadership look like? What does it feel and sound like in the heat of a game? 

The traits I value most in no specific order are:

• Good communicator, clear and concise;

• Great motivator that can energise you even when getting flogged;

• Constant feedback, good or bad so you knew “where you were”;

• Selfless acts of courage;

• Passion and a will for the team to succeed at any cost;

Feel free to portray it in a story from a personal account from your own coaching or playing days if that’s more suitable to you. 

Was listening to SEN the other day and they were replaying a fantastic interview with recently retired big hairy Cat, Cam Mooney.

When asked about the single biggest influence on the Cats premiership dynasty, he did not hesitate in naming the appointment of Tom Harley as the club's captain at the start of 2007.

"Why?" asked Nathan Thompson. "Because of his communication skills" said Mooney.

Being a good player, honest, disciplined and hardworking, is essential for leadership. But the the key quality, according to Mooney, was the ability to communicate effectively and intelligently to every player on the list, from youngest to oldest and from most talented to the biggest battler.

I so hope Neeld gets this decision right. It should be noted that Harley's selection was a surprise to many outside the Cats at the time, so don't be surprised if a left-field choice is named or possibly even a youngster.

vote #1 jones

vote #1 jones

You've missed the point of the thread, rolly.

However if you insist on Jones being the best candidate, give some points or details as to why he has the creds.

Cheers

You've missed the point of the thread, rolly.

However if you insist on Jones being the best candidate, give some points or details as to why he has the creds.

Cheers

Nathan Jones, a former first round draft pick showed his massive potential when coming third in the NAB rising star behind Joel Selwood and Scott Pendlebury.

Since then he has cemented his spot in the team with his tough as nails attitude and willingness to do the hard yards.

Consistently in Melbourne's best on game day, by all reports he is also one of the front runners at training.

Both in his personal performances and also with his encouragement and communication with other players he exhibits his many leadership qualities and in my personal opinion seems to tick every box required of an AFL captain.

I think he would be a great "lead by example" style of captain, and young Jack Trengove could learn alot from his actions both on and off the field.

The other player I think ticks all the boxes is Moloney but unfortunately he got his face on the back page of the paper for all the wrong reasons and in this day and age that kind of incident is going to cost you.

Moloney will be in the leadership group, don't get me wrong, but it will be in a lesser role.

And a very topical subject at the moment in the light not only of the issue of who will lead the club into the future under Mark Neeld but also in view of that remarkable day of cricket yesterday when Michael Clarke scored only the sixth test triple century by an Australian and declared the innings closed at the mid point of the match and in sight of some more personal records.

Clarke was clearly being selfless and courageous in a way. The chances of India fighting it's way back into the game are remote but Clarke has given them a sliver of an opportunity to do so in the manner of that Eden Gardens fightback a decade or so ago.  Unlikely, but a safer option would have been to bat on until a couple of overs before tea or even after tea to give them no chance whatsoever . Or having been in Sydney once at this time of year when the heavens opened up for three days, he might have had some good intelligence from the weather bureau. Still, it was definitely a selfless act and his play and the decision he made especially after earlier making no secret of publicly saying that the win was more important than the individual achievement should do a lot as far as melding together this young team (notwithstanding the efforts of elder statesmen Ponting and Hussey) for future success.

Still on cricket, another type of captain who was successful in his own way was England's Mike Brearley. A late starter who was not selected for England until the age of 34 in 1976, his test record as a batsman was mediocre (he averaged 22.88 in 39 Test innings, without a Test century), but he was an outstanding captain. He took over as skipper in 1977 when his country was being regularly flogged and he got the best out of his team with some excellent man-management skills and they stopped being the perpetual losers that they had been for much of the decade. So the on and off ground "people management" factor is important but in AFL you also need to perform so Brearley wouldn't make it in our code.

The best captain of the club by far in my lifetime has been Ron Barassi and the single word I have to describe his captaincy is "presence". That is his presence and leading by example on the field in the way he played which was simply fearless and inspirational. Presence in the way he used his voice or even in the way he would look at people - always in the eye and in the way his eyes spoke. And it was always about the team and, most of the time, the team was successful.

I am 24 years old and recently completed a leadership course through work as i move up the ranks of a rather large company. The single most important thing we were taught was communication which included everything from talking, listening, body language, the way you dress and present yourself, everything about you when you interact with other people. Positive and negative feedback to players, coaches, media, everyone.

I also remember reading an article somewhere about Hawthorns captiancy. From a spectators point of view on the field luke hodge is the leader of that club. but off the field someone has to go and meet sponsors and do media commitments and things like that, a very busy person.

I think there is a whole lot more than I could imagine involved in being an AFL captin. Maloney and Frawley seem to be our on field leaders but from what i hear Grimes is so very professional off the field and apparently held in very high regard. Having siad that I still dont think think there is a stand out captian which is probably why we have these disscusions.

I spoke to someone in the know and they assured me that Brad Green won't captain Melbourne this year.

Jack Grimes is would be a lock the next captain if he wasnt so injury prone, even still he might get it. Having met him, its fair to say he ticks all of the boxes.

As a smokie i'd be happy to see given the captaincy given to Col Garland - good communicator, intellegent, backs into packs, does the 1%ers

I spoke to someone in the know and they assured me that Brad Green won't captain Melbourne this year.

Mark Neeld assured me honestly that no decision has been made either way.

Not sure if someone in the know is closer to it than the coach...

Yep, I agree that communication is what it is all about. But that communication has to be backed up by integrity. It doesn't matter how well yu explain yourself or how skilled you are at hitting motivational points, if you let people down, even occasionally, it completely undermines that. I guess it could be summed up as 'People find excuses if you find excuses'.

So, the first-rate communication is essential, but to make that work they need to be first rate in other respects, such as training and preparation, on-field discipline and off-field behaviour.

Just to be clear, I don't think the on-field element requires that the player be outstanding and a mach-winner, just that they always do the job required of them.

And the media stuff is so much shared around these days that it doesn't really matter, so long as the captain can give the 'strait bat' answers during intrusive trouble-making inteviews where journos try to get them to say something bad about the coach/administration/neighbour's cat.

Yep, I agree that communication ... the media stuff is so much shared around these days that it doesn't really matter, so long as the captain can give the 'strait bat' answers during intrusive trouble-making inteviews where journos try to get them to say something bad about the coach/administration/neighbour's cat.

Subliminally, you're telling us that Brad Green should remain the captain.

We all know that Brad is a multi-talented sportsperson who excelled in cricket and soccer before settling on AFL and that he comes from Tasmania which is on the other side of the Bass Strait.

Hence, your reference to a 'strait bat'.

Elementary really!

Subliminally, you're telling us that Brad Green should remain the captain.

We all know that Brad is a multi-talented sportsperson who excelled in cricket and soccer before settling on AFL and that he comes from Tasmania which is on the other side of the Bass Strait.

Hence, your reference to a 'strait bat'.

Elementary really!

You make a good point.

Perhaps the title to this thread should be changed to "Leadership straits of an AFL club Captain"?

You make a good point.

Perhaps the title to this thread should be changed to "Leadership straits of an AFL club Captain"?

While we're at it, we could re-name the website vandemonsland.com and cast votes each round for the club Bass and Fairest ...

While we're at it, we could re-name the website vandemonsland.com and cast votes each round for the club Bass and Fairest ...

Yes and we could ask on of our other Taswegians, Jeremy how it's done.

Some good ideas thrown out there, McQueen.

One thing I will say is that whatever the measurement I am not certain we have anything other than a number of simply adequate choices for captain in 2012.

But, yes, whoever it is must realise the power of his body language on-field, his professionalism off the field and his example whilst in the thick of it.

Good luck to whichever individual(s) we settle on.

Edited January 7, 201213 yr by rpfc

Was listening to SEN the other day and they were replaying a fantastic interview with recently retired big hairy Cat, Cam Mooney.

When asked about the single biggest influence on the Cats premiership dynasty, he did not hesitate in naming the appointment of Tom Harley as the club's captain at the start of 2007.

"Why?" asked Nathan Thompson. "Because of his communication skills" said Mooney.

Being a good player, honest, disciplined and hardworking, is essential for leadership. But the the key quality, according to Mooney, was the ability to communicate effectively and intelligently to every player on the list, from youngest to oldest and from most talented to the biggest battler.

I so hope Neeld gets this decision right. It should be noted that Harley's selection was a surprise to many outside the Cats at the time, so don't be surprised if a left-field choice is named or possibly even a youngster.

Good post.

I don't want to turn this into a "why Green shouldn't be captain" thread, but I really think he falls down in this area.

In my limited experience with Green, and observing him, he is not a great communicator.

Seems to say so little, regardless of how many words he uses.

I'm a fan of Grimes for captain, for this reason and others.

I agree.

It shouldn't be taken as something against Brad Green but the fact is that we have a new coach who wants to impress a fresh image and a different direction at the club and therefore some new faces in the leadership group and at its very top are required.

Not wanting to labour the point of the cricket analogy but Tim Lane's story in today's Sunday Age on Michael Clarke's declaration in the second test is an insightful look at the elements of captaincy - Clarke's road less travelled.

Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting have at least one thing in common, their Test batting averages improved once they were made captain. I'm big on captains leading from the front in the field of play.

Brad Green shouldn't captain the club again and I'll be exceedingly surprised if he does.

Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting have at least one thing in common, their Test batting averages improved once they were made captain. I'm big on captains leading from the front in the field of play.

Brad Green shouldn't captain the club again and I'll be exceedingly surprised if he does.

Then be prepared to be suprised

I still think Australia declared too soon, even though Australia won, and everything Clarke did turned to gold.

Would Clarke have declared if he was not batting? If he had been dismissed for, say, 320 he would have been free to allow Australia to bat on without any potential accusations of record chasing.

Michael Clarke and Ricky Ponting have at least one thing in common, their Test batting averages improved once they were made captain. I'm big on captains leading from the front in the field of play.

Chicken and egg?

Test captains are often a team's best batsmen and on top of that, are appointed captain at the height of their powers - hence their averages will improve as captain.

Chicken and egg?

Test captains are often a team's best batsmen and on top of that, are appointed captain at the height of their powers - hence their averages will improve as captain.

In sport, as in life, there are always those that thrive on responsibility while others shrink under the pressure of heightened expectations.

Good post.

I don't want to turn this into a "why Green shouldn't be captain" thread, but I really think he falls down in this area.

In my limited experience with Green, and observing him, he is not a great communicator.

Seems to say so little, regardless of how many words he uses.

He would not be appointed captain of the Australian team if this was the case.