The main problem in our team for the past 10 years has been the dearth of real on field leaders. After David Neitz, there were none. By real on field leaders I mean leaders like Jarred McVeigh, Cameron Ling or Luke Hodge who by their presence alone on the field could provide inspiration, direction and encouragement to their teammates.

Who can forget Michael Voss monstering an unspeakable in the centre of the MCG in the last quarter of 2002 grand final. Recall Hodge waving his arms about like a traffic policeman from CHB. Remember Garry Lyon moving himself onto the ball for centre square ball ups when the side need a lift and making a difference.

This is not a criticism of Junior, Brad Green, the two Jacks or Chunka who have led the team with great credit and distinction but were let down by the club. They gave all they had but a gross failure to plan for the leadership left them without the support they deserved.

I hope that the recruitment of Jordan Lewis will start to rectify this weakness. Not as the captain but as an on field extension of the coach providing direction and encouragement to the the younger players. Together with Jack Watts, "papa bear" of the forward line, Lewis should be added to the "leadership group" for 2017. Nathan Jones deserves to hold the captaincy for as long as he wants because he has earned the honour for his efforts in over 200 games.

 

Agree... one of the clubs many issues has been on field leadership. Not many players stood up when there was a run of goals against us. 

Currently jones is holding the fort single handidly and Vince a distant second. 

The new crop of players have what it takes but that might take a little while. 

Viney, Gawn, Brayshaw, petracca? Oliver? Mcdonald? 

Most good teams have 5-6 on field leaders. Let's hope these players can stand up in the future 

Jones was a no-brainer, but I don't think he's a great motivator. Problem is no one else came close into consideration, he clearly deserved it, but in a couple of years I think Viney/McDonald should take over, maybe consider Gawn and Watts too

Anybody can lead if they have the troops to lead, that has been our issue, not the quality of leaders

McVeigh has had Kennedy, Hanneberry, Jack, Franklin

Ling had Bartel, Enright, Kelly

Hodge had Mitchell, Lewis, Roughead, Lewis

Nothing wrong with Junior McDonald. Many things turned to shyte when he was forced out.

9 minutes ago, Satyriconhome said:

Anybody can lead if they have the troops to lead, that has been our issue, not the quality of leaders

McVeigh has had Kennedy, Hanneberry, Jack, Franklin

Ling had Bartel, Enright, Kelly

Hodge had Mitchell, Lewis, Roughead, Lewis

Talk about painting the picture black and white..

Quality leaders have a significant say in the development and emergence of young talent.

That is obvious.

8 minutes ago, stevethemanjordan said:

Talk about painting the picture black and white..

Quality leaders have a significant say in the development and emergence of young talent.

That is obvious.

We can agree to disagree, I have been around quite a long time, have met in that time 2 'real' leaders, others are manufactured and helped in their tasks by other members of the team(s)

I reckon we've got a wealth of leaders now, just that apart from Jones, (and arguably Vince) they're all young. Gawn, Viney, Tyson and Brayshaw are all leaders, albeit Gus hasn't had much chance to show it yet. Hogan will be if he stops sulking and truly buys in, which he now should, and now there's Lewis. I hate to say it, but the whole competition can see us coming. Expectation, much? 

Saty is right. Good cattle can make a leader (and coach) look better. But even cattle limited in natural skills and ability can follow a true leader and perhaps extract more from themselves than was otherwise thought. Or make better on-field decisions (eg St Kilda in 2015). Leadership is more than performance - it requires the right attitude, strong determination, clear thinking, setting goals, presence within the group and many more attributes.

We often make the mistake of conflating good leadership with on-field success. Evenly poorly performing teams can have great leaders (exposing my age, think of Kevin Murray as captain coach when Fitzroy lost every game) but their leadership is overlooked.

 

16 hours ago, bandicoot said:

Agree... one of the clubs many issues has been on field leadership. Not many players stood up when there was a run of goals against us. 

Currently jones is holding the fort single handidly and Vince a distant second. 

The new crop of players have what it takes but that might take a little while. 

Viney, Gawn, Brayshaw, petracca? Oliver? Mcdonald? 

Most good teams have 5-6 on field leaders. Let's hope these players can stand up in the future 

Why? Because of his age?

Viney has undoubtedly been behind Jones in the leadership stakes, not Vince. 

15 minutes ago, praha said:

Why? Because of his age?

Viney has undoubtedly been behind Jones in the leadership stakes, not Vince. 

Leadership skills require more than just playing well. 

Its also knowing how to motivate, inspire and get the best out of your team mates. Not every player reacts the same to a situation. 

Its knowing what buttons to press and when to press them. 

Not sure if Viney has learnt the skills for this yet. 

The one player continually overlooked after Nathan Jones is Jack Watts. In any other context, he would be the red hot favourite - ability, football smarts, makes good on-field decisions (marking in the defensive goal square shortly after kicking a goal in first game, extra man in defence in red time of quarters), can fill many roles for the team, good speaker, presence, other players look to him for guidance and acknowledgement. With the right direction from the coach to be more outgoing and outspoken on the field, he could be the best choice. I see him in the style of Tom Harley. Not necessarily the best or most dynamic player but influential.