Gawn is not perfect, but he is very good at the role and the only suitable option at this point.

As both a leader and a player, Gawn needs to realise that a sizeable part of his legacy will rest on whether he is prepared to share the load so that there is a smooth transition when he leaves. Otherwise there will be a massive void that we can't fill when that time comes.

Max will stay captain whilst he gets regular games. If he can hang around a couple more years we have quite a few potential outstanding younger players who have leadership credentials. They just need a couple/few years in the system

Easily Max stays. I think it's also more important given the other changes at the club, we need Max to be that stable voice in a lot of change.

Definitely for renewal. Bring on Rivers & Chandler

1 hour ago, Little Goffy said:

2026 will be a huge year for a number of our young-but-not-junior players. New coach to impress and big shoes begging to be filled after some prominent but leadership-deficit departures. Pickett, Rivers, Chandler, Sparrow, Turner and Petty all have a chance to make it a career defining year...

...

...Who will be our 2028 premiership captain?

Well, Disco now has another 5 years to work into captaincy contention! 😊

1 minute ago, Timothy Reddan-A'Blew said:

Well, Disco now has another 5 years to work into captaincy contention! 😊

Clearly he saw this thread and was inspired.

I think Kozzie and Langdon would laugh at the suggestion of being captains. Koz would then recoil in horror if he thought you were serious. He's made to be a leader of the indigenous players on our list, and he's already stepped into the role IMO.

56 minutes ago, Cranky Franky said:

Definitely for renewal. Bring on Rivers & Chandler

CF to be captain you have to be a first pick every game. Rivers is a chance but Chandler is average at best. I will be surprised if he plays more than 10 games in 2026.

Edited December 11, 2025Dec 11 by old dee

Planting the seeds.

Think he'll captain in 2026 but probably not beyond that.

3 hours ago, PaulR said:

I agree he's an introvert, but also see him as a proud leader who would respond well to that role in the team on match days. For me the off field aspects of the captain are superflous (relative to the onfield role) and when Goody said "we could build a team aroiund Kozzie" I agreed and if indeed he's our Number 1 player we should make him our captain, he may grow into it...

And BTW I don't see this happening for a couple of years (with Koz doing his apprenticeship as VC)...

Appointing somebody clearly unfit and unwelcoming of the role because they’re “our number 1 player and may grow into it” would be absolutely insane.

So much of captaincy these days is about communication and being an ambassador for your club and if you’ve ever heard Kozzy being interviewed you’d know he’s a million miles away from that.

Fantastic footballer, brilliant to see him becoming a mentor to the younger indigenous guys, but being the team’s best player is about 348th on the list of criteria for making the best captain.

14 minutes ago, Dee Boys said:

Appointing somebody clearly unfit and unwelcoming of the role because they’re “our number 1 player and may grow into it” would be absolutely insane.

So much of captaincy these days is about communication and being an ambassador for your club and if you’ve ever heard Kozzy being interviewed you’d know he’s a million miles away from that.

Fantastic footballer, brilliant to see him becoming a mentor to the younger indigenous guys, but being the team’s best player is about 348th on the list of criteria for making the best captain.

Dustin Martin is a great example of this.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

And with Max as captain, that's at least one thing that definitely ain't broke.

I don’t think there’s a viable alternative to maxy yet. Lever is too injury prone, rivers form wasn’t great last year and the youngsters aren’t ready yet

Stick with maxy for another year I reckon,

59 minutes ago, Ghostwriter said:

Dustin Martin is a great example of this.

Wrong sport, but the Aussie cricket team fell into that trap with Steve Smith back in the day (though he's doing a decent job this summer).

5 hours ago, GawnOfTheDead said:

Max Gawn has stated that with there being a new coach, might be time for a new captain..

What’s your thoughts on that?

Who do you believe is in the running?

I love Max and he has been a phenomenal skipper but I intend to agree it would be great for someone else to take over and have Max by his side for a couple of years

2 minutes ago, Demons11 said:

I love Max and he has been a phenomenal skipper but I intend to agree it would be great for someone else to take over and have Max by his side for a couple of years

I get and agree with this line of thinking, but no one is presenting atm as being truly worthy of the role of captain other than Max.

Never rated Max as a skipper and still dont.

In saying that, I think he will do one more year and then hand the bat over.

Daniel Turner would be my next pick, but keep an eye out for Xavier Lindsay over the next few years.

Rated internally highly for his leadership qualities at such a young age.

Max to captain but back to a formal leadership group with the likes of Lever, Disco and Chin sharing more of the responsibility with Max so they get more exposure to the top role (with the benefit of relieving some of the pressure on the skip).

31 minutes ago, Temporarily Hopeful Demon said:

Wrong sport, but the Aussie cricket team fell into that trap with Steve Smith back in the day (though he's doing a decent job this summer).

Still on the wrong sport, I never thought Ben Stokes was captain material and I probably still wouldn’t only he’s captaining England with the full support and help of Joe Root and it shows. I hope Max does this, ie. relinquish the captaincy not upon retirement but while he’s still playing thereby making a new captain’s transition easier. Somehow I can’t see Max doing this though.

I am hopeful that our coaching group have a better handle on our players emerging leadership talents than we mere mortals on DLand. The playing group would also recognise the leadership potential within the senior and junior groups. Although I admired them immensely I thought that Neita, Jonesy and Vines all lead by example whereas non of the three had great communication skills.

Max on the other hand has demonstrated that he has developed the necessary player dynamics and communications skills to lead the team to the top and also defend his teammates and his football club to a very high order. For me it is his as long as his teammates want him, in the meantime it is up to the players and coaching group to identify the onfield and budding leaders to hone their trade from the master.

Bowey should be in this conversation, leads by actions. Great team man.

Edited December 11, 2025Dec 11 by Deestinga2
Messed it up first time

30 minutes ago, Demons11 said:

I love Max and he has been a phenomenal skipper but I intend to agree it would be great for someone else to take over and have Max by his side for a couple of years

Similar to what I was saying (above) but more concise. Yes, it would be great; it’d be invaluable, but I can’t see Max doing this. I reckon he’ll step down from captaincy when he steps away from playing.

It’s time for a new captain in my opinion, unfortunately not a lot to choose from to replace Max though.

Max's off field work with Trac, Oliver, MMM and everything else has been first class, he has a long media career ahead without doubt. I'm not sure the on-field role of leader is quite the same anymore, everything is about lines and roles, and leadership groups. Also I would ask are Gen Z+ are they really fussed about who is captain? (Genuine question, does it get a extra 2-3% performance out of the team). Captain has become much more about being a spokesperson for the club, which is a poison chalice at the best of times.. Max's public speaking ability is off the charts for a footballer, and TBH he really took some heat recently.

Once upon a time a hard nut like Viney would have been my first choice, but those days seem gone.