JOSH Kelly's long-term future remains undecided but he's been given an indication of how highly he's regarded at Greater Western Sydney after being named captain for this week's opening round of the JLT Community Series.
Kelly, one of the Giants' most gifted young midfielders, is out of contract at the end of this season, and is yet to officially commit to the club beyond 2017.
The Victorian, who turned 22 on Sunday, is sure to be targeted by a number of Melbourne clubs should his contract status remain up in the air, but said on Wednesday he's not fazed by any of the speculation.
"My management and the club are working through that, but at the moment to be honest, my focus is on footy, and getting a kick through the JLT Community Series in preparation for round one," he said.
"Skippering this week is what my focus is on at the moment.
"It's very humbling and extremely exciting, I'm just hanging to get out there and lead our young group on the weekend.
"It's something I've been working on, with my leadership I've always felt like I've led by example, but being a bit more vocal and instructive out on the field is an area I've been working on, and this will be a good chance to do that."
GWS coach Leon Cameron surprised Kelly by announcing his new role at training on Wednesday morning, and the news was greeted with raucous applause from his teammates.
"He's got really good values and he's a really popular young man around our club," Cameron said.
"He's only a young player but he's more like a six or seven-year player, he's played a lot of footy for a fourth-year player.
"He's starting to realise that he needs to open up his mouth a lot more and demand from other players and I've seen that over the pre-season, so with all that wrapped up into one, it was a pretty obvious pick for us."
Kelly, the Giants' second pick behind Tom Boyd in the 2013 NAB AFL Draft, played 18 games in each of his first two seasons, but while he showed glimpses of his immense talent and skill level, as most young players do, the wingman found it hard to produce on a consistent basis and was dropped twice in 2015.
A physically stronger player emerged from the 2016 pre-season and it translated into some brilliant on-field form, with Kelly averaging 23.6 disposals and not missing a game for the season, on his way to a fourth-placed finish in the best and fairest.
"I always had the confidence in myself that I could keep lifting my standards, and I feel last year was an improvement, but at the same time I think I've still got a lot more to offer," he said.
"I've addressed a few things in my game over the pre-season and I'm hoping I can keep on the incline and improve again this year."
The Giants will leave plenty of experience in Sydney when they head to Narrandera in country New South Wales to take on West Coast this Saturday.
Co-captains Callan Ward and Phil Davis, along with club champion Toby Greene, Heath Shaw, Stephen Coniglio, Tom Scully, Dylan Shiel and Jeremy Cameron are among the big names being rested, while Shane Mumford (elbow), Steve Johnson (thumb) and Brett Deledio (calf) are still recovering from injuries.
The clash gives last year's GWS academy draftees Will Setterfield, Harry Perryman, and Lachlan Tiziani, all plucked from the club's Riverina region, a chance to debut, while former Fremantle midfielder Tendai Mzungu will also face the Eagles.
