Who deserves the St Kilda captaincy?

This season St Kilda have made major improvements, rapidly rising up the ladder and even contending for finals.

The refinements they made in the trade period were of a masterclass standard, doubtlessly being the best in the AFL this season.

They have now established a squad that can get them to September – the first time since 2011.

But a hot topic has been who will lead them. Nick Riewoldt confirmed everyone’s suspicions by stepping down in August. Much has been made of the decision, which isn’t meant to come until February, meaning another three months of stewing.

But which bloke deserves to lead the club?

Here are the frontrunners.

Jack Steven
The Trevor Barker Medallist appears frontrunner to lead his team, despite having just been added to the leadership group this year.

The clean midfielder is the Saints’ best player and this year has stood up in the tight situations, as a leader should do.

His endurance and never-stop-trying attitude is admirable and the fact that he has already captained a match would give him a strong case to argue for captaincy if he wanted to.

Despite this he has usually liked to steer clear of the spotlight so far throughout his career and would need to dramatically change to fit the captaincy role.

Jarryn Geary
The defender enjoyed what he described as his best season to date in 2016, which saw him come runner-up in the St Kilda Best and Fairest.

Geary is a leader through and through, epitomising the Saints spirit. He is not necessarily the best player and hasn’t been given everything on a platter, but a harder working player he could not be.

Off-field he is a big part of St Kilda’s community.

If he was chosen, like Steven, it wouldn’t be his first time captaining. He captained once last year. The one question surrounding Jarryn is his age. At 28 on a new developing list, would the Saints prefer to seek a long-term captain who can learn the art of captaincy next year with Riewoldt before thriving for a longer period.

Will his wealth of experience get him over the line?

Maverick Weller
His career was the crossroads when he learnt he was delisted from Gold Coast but just years later he is a smokey to captain an AFL club.

The biggest factor in his eventual success has been his persistence and resilience. These are two values any good captain to live by, so to have that already up his sleeve is beneficial.

Weller is respected and valued by his colleagues but more importantly his calm headedness and warm persona make him easily approachable.

Without the wealth of experience, the other candidates and having just had a decent run of form, would putting such a heavy workload on him be the right choice?

David Armitage
Armitage went from consistent status to fringing on star level last year.

The 28-year-old midfielder is very keen to lead St Kilda next year, having picked up handy tips from good mate Nick Riewoldt in the past few years.

His courage around the contest is outstanding and his witty ball movement deserves praise. There is little doubt about whether he’d thrive or falter with the job, but will they go for an experienced campaigner or a younger player?

The others
Sean Dempster: His work off half-back is under-rated but he hates media and it takes little nous to realise his age is another decisive factor against him.

Jack Newnes: Although in the leadership group and his name has been floated around, the classy midfielder is too inexperienced and young to have such a weight on his shoulders. No doubt a leader for the future.

Leigh Montagna: Deserved to have a captaincy stint however Blind Freddie can see through that idea.

I’m a massive fan of Jarryn Geary, therefore would give the captaincy to him only for a couple of years before Jack Newnes or Maverick Weller either take over or become co-captains.

Either way, every name above has made/will make significant contributions to the St Kilda Football Club and many will be decisive factors on the club going forward. The role of captaincy is meteorically lessening and more decisions are made as a leadership group.

Roarers, who do you think deserves the honour?