TOM ROCKLIFF says he has no intention of changing his aggressive playing style just because he's been appointed Brisbane Lions captain.

And coach Justin Leppitsch says he doesn't want his new skipper to change one little bit. 

Rockliff was named as Jed Adcock's successor on Thursday as the Lions ushered in a new wave of leaders that also elevated Dayne Zorko and Pearce Hanley to the vice-captaincy alongside Daniel Rich. 

Rockliff is coming off his most successful individual year, being named in the All Australian side for the first time, winning his second club best and fairest, and leading the AFL in average disposals (32.7).

But he also missed two games for separate suspensions and made a donation to charity following a verbal altercation with North Melbourne's Brent Harvey. 

Rockliff loves to be aggressive and said he hoped that trait rubbed off on his teammates.

"That's the way I've always played my footy and I play it on the edge and occasionally overstep the mark," he said.

"That's something I've got to be aware of … I can't afford to be suspended, especially in this position, you need your captain out there.

"I want to lead from the front and lead by example. We need that little edge to us as well.

"Hopefully I can instill that in a few others. Hopefully moving forward we can bring that hard edge that the early 2000 Lions had." 

Leppitsch said he had seen Rockliff mature since coming to the club 16 months ago and now was the right time for him to take the captaincy reigns. 

"I think universally he's loved within the organisation," Leppitsch said. 

"In some ways he's hated a little bit by the opposition, which I like as well.

"There's nothing wrong with having a leader that stands up for you and your club and what you believe in, and I think Tom does that very well.

"You can't lose those things. Competitiveness is very important in our game, Tom has that and I think he'll bring it out of others as well."

The 24-year-old has been a vice-captain for the past two years and takes over from Adcock who shared duties with Jonathan Brown in 2013 before being the sole leader in Leppitsch's first season as coach. 

He will mentor Rockliff in his new role.

Adcock said while he still had the passion to captain, he was comfortable with Rockliff taking over and was looking forward to helping guide the young leaders.