After looking at who will likely be the next captains of Port Adelaide, Richmond and St Kilda, today we’re doing our final assessment on Sydney, West Coast and the Western Bulldogs for their next skipper.
As with the previous articles, we will assume that all the current captains hold the captaincy until they are 30 years old. If they are already 30, we will be working on the assumption that they hand over the captaincy next season.
Sydney
Current captain: Josh P Kennedy
Kennedy has been a leader for the Swans, playing his best footy when his team is under pressure or in a big game, as per the 2016 grand final. He will turn 30 years old next season, meaning he would hand over the captaincy ahead of the 2019 season.
Future captain contenders: Dan Hannebery, Isaac Heeney, Zak Jones, Callum Mills and Jake Lloyd
Hannebery has led from the front in his fantastic career to date. Heeney has plenty of talent and leadership qualities and has shown them often throughout games. Jones – who is the brother of Nathan, the current co-captain at Melbourne – has led from the front in his breakout year, and it seems leadership runs in the blood.
Mills has played like a 200-game player to date with his skill and composure; however, he will be going into his fourth season in 2019, which means captaincy might be too much pressure for him to deal with at that age. Lloyd has been a leader alongside Dane Rampe in the Swans defence, proving to be an important part of their team.
My pick for the next Sydney captain is Dan Hannebery, as he has led from the front all throughout his career.
(Image: AAP Image/Dean Lewins)
West Coast
Current captain: Shannon Hurn
Hurn has been an excellent leader for the Eagles throughout his career. He is currently 30 years old, meaning he could hand over the captaincy ahead of next season.
Future captain contenders – Andrew Gaff, Elliott Yeo, Nic Naitanui and Luke Shuey
Gaff has put his body on the line as an inside midfielder for the Eagles. Yeo has been fantastic for his team since crossing from the Lions in his early years, both as a leader and a player, and was finally rewarded with an All Australian selection this year. Naitanui has been a fantastic ruckman; however, he has had injury problems interrupt his career. Shuey has led from the front since debuting and is certainly a potential captain for the club.
My pick for the next West Coast captain is Luke Shuey, as he always tries his best and puts his body on the line in every game.
Western Bulldogs
No current captain
Due to Bob Murphy’s retirement, the Western Bulldogs do not currently have a captain. The next captain will take over from next season.
Future captain contenders: Marcus Bontempelli, Easton Wood and Jack Macrae
‘The Bont’ has the X-factor in the Dogs’ midfield and has captained the Dogs in one game last year, showing he would be able to handle the pressure. Wood has been a fantastic intercept defender for the Dogs and is the Dogs’ premiership captain of 2016 due to Bob Murphy’s absence with an ACL injury. Macrae is a young leader who has plenty of potential and would thrive if given the captaincy.
My pick for the next Western Bulldogs captain is Easton Wood as he has already shown his capabilities of being captain throughout the 2016 season.
That’s it in this series of articles. Do you agree with these opinions? Who do you think will be the next skipper of these clubs?
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