Newly appointed Brisbane captain Dayne Beams says former Magpie skipper Nick Maxwell will prove a guiding light as he leads the Lions through a significant rebuild.
Beams rates Maxwell as the best captain he’s played under and says he’ll look to lean on the 2010 premiership skipper.
“You don’t realise how good a skipper he was until you grow up a bit and you’ve been in the system a bit more,” Beams told SEN’s The Run Home.
“Maxy is someone I still keep in touch with regularly and I still ask for advice and I’m going to continue. He’s the best captain I played under and I’d be stupid not to pick his brain about certain things.”
With new coach Chris Fagan at the helm, and Beams driving the playing group, the Lions hope they have hit on a dynamic duo after years of failed appointments.
Beams praised Fagan’s capacity to connect with players on a deeper level than football and said the young group had warmed to his style.
He said one of the first ports of call was to build the group’s resilience. From its past 66 matches the Lions have won 14.
“We’ve got a lot of guys at the club where losing has become the norm and Chris is really trying to work with guys to create a winning culture,” he said.
“The only way that can happen is you start winning but we’ve got to start celebrating small wins because the reality is we might not have a lot of wins this year but we’ve got to stay positive and focused.”
The 27-year-old said he had matured as a player and person and was confident his body would stand up after playing seven quarters in 2016 because of a knee injury.
“I’m a pretty confident person so I’m not going into the season thinking how am I going to captain the side being injured,” he said.
“I’m thinking I’m playing every game and I’ve done everything possible to make sure that happens.”
Beams only leadership experience was as deputy vice-captain of Collingwood in 2013. He was dumped from the leadership group a year later.
Former captain Tom Rockliff has been demoted to vice-captain, while Dayne Zorko, Allen Christensen, Ryan Lester, Harris Andrews and Stefan Martin round out a seven-man leadership group.