THERE'S no "heir apparent" to Jarryd Roughead as captain of Hawthorn, but whoever gets the job will likely run solo, Hawthorn football manager Graham Wright says.

Roughead, 31, stepped down as skipper on Tuesday after two years in the role to focus on his own form in 2019.  

The Hawks have always gone with solo captains, bucking the trend at some other clubs where more than one leader has been appointed. 

Wright said on Wednesday he believed they would stick with tradition in 2019.  

FULL FIXTURE Every round, every game

"It hasn't been discussed at all but I doubt we'd have joint captains," Wright told Macquarie Sports Radio.

"It hasn't been something we've done in the past and I wouldn't think we'd go down that line now."

In 2018, three clubs appointed co-captains: Gold Coast (Tom Lynch and Steven May), Greater Western Sydney (Phil Davis and Callan Ward) and Melbourne (Nathan Jones and Jack Viney).

Carlton has already Patrick Cripps and Sam Docherty as joint leaders in 2019, with Marc Murphy stepping down after six seasons at the helm. 

Midfielders Isaac Smith and Liam Shiels appear the most likely candidates to replace Roughead, having shared the vice-captaincy throughout this season.

PROS AND CONS Our verdict on your club's fixture

Ben Stratton and Jack Gunston made up their five-man leadership group, with the former getting the nod from ex-Hawk Campbell Brown on Twitter on Wednesday.

"If he wants the role, I wouldn't be at all surprised if Ben Stratton is Hawthorn's captain next year," Brown said.

Wright said the Hawks wouldn't be rushed into a decision, with the appointment process yet to be finalised.

"It's a big decision over the next few months but we'll take our time and work our way through it," he said.

"We won't be making a decision in the next few weeks and we sort of haven't got anyone in an heir apparent perspective.

"In the past the club has worked through a process and appointed a new captain prior to Christmas or at least had made the decision.

"We've made the decision to have a look at it over the summer and go through a process that isn't set in stone at the moment but it's one that will be over the next few weeks.

"We'll have a new captain by the end of the pre-season."