Garry Lyon and Kane Cornes believe 2023 could be a year of flux for AFL captains, with as many as 10 at the very least in question.
Going through the 18 sides, the only current skippers not up for question are seemingly Carlton, Gold Coast, GWS, Melbourne, Richmond, St Kilda, Sydney and the Western Bulldogs.
The boys went through the remaining 10 teams on SEN Breakfast on Thursday morning.
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West Coast
Lyon: “Luke Shuey? 17 games this year, seven last year. Are you going with him again?”
Cornes: “I think I probably would go with Shuey again because there isn’t an obvious replacement.”
Lyon: “I just had a look at that. Tom Barrass, Jeremy McGovern, Dom Sheed – none of those jump off the page so he probably goes again.”
North Melbourne
Lyon: “Jack Ziebell, he’s been a warrior for a while. I think it’s time for change.”
Cornes: “Yeah 100 per cent. I’m not sure he’s in their best team if all things go to plan next year. Jy Simpkin for me would be the obvious one, though if you wanted to go with someone more senior Luke McDonald is a pretty good leader.”
Lyon: “I think I’m leaning towards Jy Simpkin as well.”
Hawthorn
Lyon: “Ben McEvoy has retired at Hawthorn. Jack Gunston, Jaeger O’Meara and Tom Mitchell are all gone. I think this one is almost a no-brainer.”
Cornes: “Yeah James Sicily would be the one. He just committed for five years at the Hawks, he’s in the prime of his career and has tempered those temper issues he had for a while and he plays the right way.”
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Brisbane
Lyon: “Dayne Zorko got himself into a bit of strife. At times he lets himself down with body language and other things. By his own admission it’s something he’s had to work at. Is it time for him to move on and give someone else a crack?”
Cornes: “I asked Danny Daly the footy manager at Brisbane this. They have had the discussion with him. I think they would be looking for a change. I’d love to see Lachie Neale do it. Harris Andrews would be the other one probably for me that is capable. Being a great player is one thing, but to be a great leader and drive your club to a premiership would be a great challenge for Neale.”
Essendon
Lyon: “Essendon’s another one. Dyson Heppell, if he hasn’t already stood down, I think he will. Where does this captaincy go?”
Cornes: “It’s got to be Zach Merrett. He needs to be better when he doesn’t have the football and I think that’s the case for all of his teammates, but you speak to anyone at Essendon and he sets high standards at the club and that’s what they need and he’s their best player.”
Fremantle
Lyon: “Fremantle. Fyfe?”
Cornes: “Gone. And I wonder what the legacy of Nat Fyfe’s leadership will be. A great player, Hall of Famer, dual Brownlow Medallist, all of that – but it has been very much about Nat. I don’t know him, but if you ever read an article he’s done, it is largely centred on him and I don’t think he’s had that outward lens of team which the great captains have done. The legacy of his captaincy, not as good as it could have been and part of that is because of injury and you do get a bit insular when you’re injured, but Andrew Brayshaw just plays like a captain.”
Lyon: “Of all the ones we’re talking about other than Sicily at Hawthorn, Brayshaw at Fremantle would be almost the most obvious.”
Collingwood
Lyon: “I’ve been floating this for a few years and Scott Pendlebury just keeps defying time. No question about his leadership, clearly. I just wonder whether they hand over while he’s still there and playing the footy that he is. It could be a good thing. Pendlebury, like Joel Selwood, has earned the right to captain the club until whenever he decides not to. I think it would be great to see him play alongside maybe Darcy Moore or Taylor Adams or maybe Jack Crisp and get them through the first year or two.”
Cornes: “Brayden Maynard is the other one who I think has leadership capabilities. I don’t see a need for change at Collingwood. You can easily make the case for it, but it could be a fairy-tale story like Selwood given they’re in the premiership hunt.”
Geelong
Cornes: “I don’t know about Geelong. There’s candidates they’ll tell us, but it’s impossible to replace Joel Selwood. I think they go Patrick Dangerfield.”
Lyon: “I’m confident in this one. I’m confident Tom Stewart will captain Geelong next year, but they’ve got a plethora of options. Patrick Dangerfield, Mitch Duncan, Tom Hawkins, Cam Guthrie, Jeremy Cameron. I just think Stewart, of course Dangerfield could captain them, but I don’t know if he needs it.”
Adelaide
Cornes: “The South Australian clubs would be thinking about a change as well. I doubt whether Rory Sloane will captain the club off the ACL he’s had and his form has been an issue. Tom Doedee is the obvious choice for me.”
Port Adelaide
Cornes: “Port Adelaide might think about a change as well. They had dual captains for a season and it was a disaster and Ollie Wines’ form slipped as a result, but he was a young man and Tom Jonas has done an admiral job, but I think if you’re serious about making a premiership charge you’d want your Brownlow Medallist, around the football, the character that he is, I’d probably go with Ollie Wines as well.”