The positions became vacant late last month when Club stalwarts Luke Power and Simon Black stepped down from their Vice-Captaincy roles to help develop and nurture the Club’s next generation of leaders.
Black and Power will each still play a critical role as mentors for their younger team-mates, but are simply passing on the same baton that was handed to them from experienced Lions leaders of a bygone era.
Earlier this week, the Lions players were asked to nominate the team-mates who they thought best represented the Club’s core values.
The criteria included a player’s ability to influence the game, be professional in their approach, live by the Club’s values, bring others up to their level and be accessible and communicate.
Mitch Clark, Josh Drummond, Matthew Leuenberger, James Polkinghorne, Daniel Rich and Tom Rockliff were all selected by their peers as the players most capable of filling these important roles.
The shortlist of candidates will be discussed among the key football department staff with a final recommendation expected to be presented to the Board for consideration next week.
The process was designed to maximise the leadership capabilities across the entire playing list so that each Lions player takes greater responsibility and ownership of ‘their’ Club.
Of the potential new Vice-Captains, Drummond is the most experienced at 27 years and with 72 AFL senior matches while Rich is the youngest at just 21.
Regardless of which two players officially become Vice-Captains in 2011, the Club will be hoping that every player on the list continues to display leadership qualities both on and off the field.
