Brisbane Lions midfielder Tom Rockliff has nominated Stefan Martin, as well as Dayne Zorko and Dayne Beams as potential successors, should the club opt to make a captaincy change.
Rockliff, who has been the skipper for the past two seasons, told SEN Breakfast that the Lions are yet to decide who will lead the club in 2017, but feels that there are a number of potential options.
“(Martin) probably in the past, and by his own admission, has just gone about his own business, but he’s got a really good care for this group and where its heading,” Rockliff said.
“Dayne Zorko, I believe, could easily captain an AFL club – and Dayne Beams the same.
“You look at our next generation of leaders, Harris Andrews is one that really stands out from that young group that is coming through – he’s only 20 or 21-year-old.
“What he’s been able to achieve in only two years of senior footy is really exciting.”
The 2016 skipper said that he is comfortable with any decision the club makes over the captaincy.
“If that’s me, that’s me. If its not me, its not me – I fully support whoever it is,” he said.
“I think it is important these days that you have a really strong leadership group – the days of having the one person – you need to have five or size really strong leaders within the playing group.
“It feels like the player empowerment; we have a real say on the direction of where we get to.
“If you look at our group, we are young and exciting and the most important thing for us, is we want to get up there and play finals footy again.”
The former Murray Bushranger was the centre of intense trade speculation at the end of last season, with many expecting him to be stripped of the captaincy, but he has since received the public support of new coach Chris Fagan.
“I’ve got to say, in regards to Tom, a lot was said about him last year,” Fagan said last month.
“I wasn’t here at the club. I can only judge him on how I’ve found him since I’ve been here.
“He’s been fantastic around the group, he’s trained hard, he’s been a leader around the club and been very supportive of me in my first few months here.
Rockliff said that the comments were “nice to hear”, but the most important factor was performing on matchday.
“I’m really settled up here in Queensland,” he said.
“The footy club has taken a different direction and I think we are on the right track now.
“Sometimes external views can be lost compared to internal views. I’ve just gone about my business and no doubt I’ve changed a couple of things,” he said.
“The most important thing is going out there on weekends and playing good footy for the football club.”
The Lions have undergone a large transformation over the off-season with new coaches arriving, and Rockliff said that fans will notice a vast change in the way that they play this year.
“We were scored against heavily throughout games last year – we were 132 points against on average, which is world breaking,” he said.
“We’ve tightened something up defensively. But I think you will see a different attacking flair from our individuals and team.
“I’m really excited to see what the likes of Lewis Taylor and Dayne Zorko can do this season and moving forward.”