Luke Hodge has assessed who he believes to be the most impressive captains so far in 2023.
The three-time Hawthorn premiership skipper took into account their impact on games, leadership when it counts as well as their off-field leadership.
See Hodge’s list and read his explanations from SEN’s Whateley below:
5. Patrick Cripps (Carlton)
“At times has led really well for Carlton.
“There’s been a few slip ups with letting teams back in early in the year, and his goal kicking is something he needs to work on. He’s kicked 1.7 for the year.
“But as far as his leadership, it has been impressive. He leads from the front, he’s always in and under.
“I’ve got him at five. Some people might say that’s a bit low for him, but the guys above have got a very good case.”
4. Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs)
“I watched him over at Fremantle with a game they needed to win and how he turned the game, his work rate, his hunt around the ground, his physicality, being able to push forward to kick goals as well.
“Everyone had revered him as an up and coming player, but now he’s skipper and he grabs the team when they need him.
“There’s been a lot of changes to the team as well, so he’s still figuring out how a lot of those guys play with Rory Lobb and Liam Jones coming in and losing Josh Dunkley.”
3. Toby Greene (GWS)
“As a small forward it’s hard enough playing this position in general let alone captaining your team.
“It is probably harsh that this bloke is three.
“Round 1 he had 19 disposals and four goals, Round 2 had 18 and four, had a quiet game in Round 3, then in Round 4 it was 18 and two, 24 and three (Round 5), 22 and two (Round 6) and 22 and four (Round 7).
“Adam Kingsley said as soon as he walked in, the leadership from Toby has been so good and he’s relied on him so much to understand the players. Coming from a coach that’s impressive.
“But then for what he’s been able to do on field, you sit back and think that he always oozed leadership potential. He was a little bit of a ratbag early, but he’s matured and he’s been exceptional this year.”
2. Darcy Moore (Collingwood)
“This bloke has been really good. He stepped in after a long-standing captain (Scott Pendlebury) at his club.
“They’re sitting on top of the ladder and I’m talking about a captain as far as an all-round (captain).
“The speech he gave post Anzac Day, you sit back and go clearly he’s an educated person off the field, but to sit down and actually take the time going into such a big game when normally you’ve got so many other things on. He sat back and thought about how important their role was on the day and respecting the people and what they have done for our country.
“But also his leadership on field. They win close games all the time and that comes down to leadership. The captain threw himself forward on the weekend to try and make something happen so they’ve obviously given him the flexibility to back himself and make moves.”
1. Jordan Dawson (Adelaide)
“I’ve been shocked. He goes to a club for one year and then is made captain the second year.
“I’ve got to be fair, Kane Cornes threw this up after about Round 4 and we all said, ‘settle down, it’s his first year as captain’.
“Jordan Dawson has been so impressive. He took control of Cripps in that Round 5 game in Gather Round which was a big day for Adelaide.
“They’ve lost three games this year and all of them have been because of inaccurate kicking, but you can’t put that down to a captain and his leadership group.
“What I did notice with him is their game against Hawthorn in Tasmania when they hit the front, he went behind the ball, he was telling Rory Laird what to do, he was in control and he oozed leadership.
“For a bloke who has captained seven games, he jumps out as an absolute star for their side and someone who just loves that pressure.”
Hodge admits there were a few unlucky captains to miss his initial list which of course could change when he revisits it later in the season.
“If we do this in another seven weeks, I reckon Patrick Dangerfield (would be in). His first three weeks were quieter, but his last month has been, ‘hang on, jump on my back boys, this is what I’m going to do’,” Hodge added.
“Then you look at the Brisbane Lions, Lachie Neale is playing a more selfless role giving Will Ashcroft and Josh Dunkley more time in the middle. That oozes leadership as well, alongside Harris Andrews.
“In seven weeks we could have a different list, but those five are pretty impressive at this stage.”