The Roar
The Roar

Rugby
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

Dane Haylett-Petty retained as Melbourne Rebels captain
Adrian Warren
21st January, 2020
10
Join the conversation
Advertisement
Write for The Roar

Anyone can contribute to The Roar and have their work featured alongside some of Australia’s most prominent sports journalists.

Dane Haylett-Petty (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Adrian Warren
21st January, 2020
10

Wallabies outside back Dane Haylett-Petty will captain Melbourne Rebels again as the Victorian club strives for a first Super Rugby finals spot.

Entering their tenth season Melbourne have never logged more than seven wins, a tally they have achieved in four of their last five campaigns, some of which they started well only to fade in the closing stages.

Haylett-Petty, who plays winger or fullback, retains the role he held in 2019.

“Last year I took over just before round one, it felt like I was winging it a bit,” Haylett-Petty said.

“I definitely learnt a whole lot of lessons as the whole team did.

“But we’ve talked a lot about being a start up (franchise) and we’re only ten years old and being innovative.

“I feel like the leaders have had a lot of say, taken a lot of control, a lot of responsibility, a lot of ownership, we’ve had a lot of fun with it.

“The big strength for us is the stability we’ve got. It’s the first time we’ve had in our ten-year history the same chairman, CEO, head coach, captain, all the coaching staff are the same.

“We’re just building from a strong foundation.”

Advertisement
Advertisement

Haylett-Petty felt the Rebels’ 2020 roster had a lot of depth.

“I think the Rebels have done a really good job in their off-season in terms of recruiting,” the 30-year-old said.

“We’ve lost some young guys but we’ve replaced them with a lot of Super Rugby experience. 

“Guys like Wellsy (backrower Michael Wells), (back Andrew) Kellaway, (halfback) Ryan Louwrens.

“They are going to add a lot to our season.

“We used the least number of players in Super Rugby last year and I really think we’ve got a lot of depth to get us through this season.”

The Rebels play the Brumbies in a trial in Albury on Thursday before starting their Super campaign against Japan’s Sunwolves in Fukuoka on Saturday week.

Melbourne’s Super W side will have co-captains, with PNG international and new recruit Mel Kawa joining 2019 skipper Meretiana Robinson.

Advertisement
Advertisement

© AAP

10
Join the conversation

Related Posts