NICK Riewoldt is hopeful of retaining the St Kilda captaincy for a seventh season but says he would happily step aside if it was in the best interests of the club.
Speaking at the filming of St Kilda's 2012 membership TV commercial, Riewoldt said leading the Saints was an honour that he hoped to cherish for a while longer.
"I'm really privileged to have captained the club for a long period of time. If the club sees fit for me to continue in that role, absolutely," Riewoldt said.
"It's a privileged position and one that I have a lot of respect for. As long as the club want me to keep doing it, I will and if not, that's fine, I won't change my leadership style."
Riewoldt first captained the Saints in 2005, as part of Grant Thomas' rotation policy. He was joint captain with Lenny Hayes and Luke Ball in 2007 and has held the position on his own since 2008.
New coach Scott Watters said the 29-year-old was the ideal choice for the captaincy but it was not high on his list of priorities as he prepares for the pre-season and the coming drafts.
"If all parties agree, Nick indicated that he's the right person for the job then fantastic, but that is a bridge we'll cross after Christmas. He's been an outstanding leader for this footy club and he's a great captain," Watters said.
"It's not a November conversation, that's something come January, February we'll work through. It's not just my decision, Nick's got to have input for that, the board's got to have input."
While most of his teammates have been enjoying their post-season break, Riewoldt has been working away in the gym for the past few weeks after a minor operation on his troublesome knee in the days after the elimination final loss to the Sydney Swans.
He said his fitness was more advanced than he was accustomed to in early November.
"It's probably the first time in a few years that at this stage of the year I've been able to partake in a lot of leg weights, really trying to find that strength, so that's what I've been doing for the past month and it feels really good so far," he said.
"It was pretty important I got into it early so we've been down there for about five weeks and then I'm heading off shortly on my break."
Riewoldt has been impressed in his talks with new coach Watters, who has been at the helm for three weeks, comparing him favourably with his highly credentialed predecessor Ross Lyon.
"He clearly knows a lot about football and he's a student of the game. When I first met Ross when he came across, you could tell he was going to be a good coach and you get the same feeling with Scott," he said.
"You can tell he knows what he's talking about, he's confident and he's got a direct plan."
Luke Holmesby covers St Kilda news for afl.com.au and saints.com.au. Follow him on Twitter: @AFL_LHolmesby
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily those of the AFL or its clubs
