Port Adelaide breaks 149-year tradition with dual skippers — Ollie Wines and Tom Jonas

Port Adelaide has settled on two captains — breaking the club’s 149-year tradition of having just one skipper in the No. 1 jumper.

Port Adelaide will break a 149-year tradition by appointing two captains for the 2019 AFL season — Tom Jonas, left, and Ollie Wines. Picture: Sarah Reed.

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Port Adelaide has settled on co-captains — Ollie Wines and Tom Jonas — for its AFL team, breaking the club’s 149-year tradition of having one skipper.

The Power on Thursday afternoon will name its new leadership group at Alberton.

The Advertiser understands the Port Adelaide board has accepted the Power football department recommendation that the team is best served with two captains.

Wines, the vice-captain last season, and Jonas will replace Travis Boak, who stepped down as captain during the summer after six years as skipper.

Port Adelaide will break a 149-year tradition by appointing two captains for the 2019 AFL season — Tom Jonas, left, and Ollie Wines. Picture: Sarah Reed

Never in its story dating back to the club’s start in 1870 has Port Adelaide had two captains.

And this radical shift in tradition — that will be challenged by the club’s most fervent supporters — will most probably mean that the No.1 jumper will not be reserved exclusively for the skipper.

Wines has worn No. 16 and Jonas No. 42 — and are most likely to stay in these numbers this season.

Since 1924, every Port Adelaide captain — except Geof Motley (No. 17) in the 1960s and Boak (No. 10) for a charity last season — has worn No. 1.

The traditionalists, including club greats such as SANFL premiership captain Tim Ginever, will take issue with co-captains.

Ginever earlier this month said: “It’s a complete no-no. Port Adelaide has one captain. He wears the No. 1.

“He leads by example and he leads out the front. Don’t make the soft call; make a hard call and back him in. I’d be going with Tom Jonas.”

Co-captains at Alberton has been flagged since January. Club president David Koch told the members at the annual meeting a fortnight ago that tradition should not be preserved if it created a limitation on team success.

“If a tradition is detrimental to your football department, do you do that?” Koch said.

“The most successful club which has been in 21 of the last 25 finals is the Sydney Swans and they had co-captains for 16 years.”

Port Adelaide will join Sydney (Luke Parker, Dane Rampe and Josh Kennedy), Adelaide (Taylor Walker and Rory Sloane), Greater Western Sydney (Phil Davis and Callan Ward) and Gold Coast (that is expected to appoint three captains) in having more than one skipper this season.

Legendary Port Adelaide footballer Geof Motley unveils the Geof Motley Race at Adelaide Oval with outgoing captain Travis Boak in 2014. Picture: SARAH REED.

Jonas, 28, last week told The Advertiser that Port Adelaide needed to find the best leadership model for on-field success rather than be locked to tradition.

“I am with (club chief executive) Keith Thomas and the football department on that call,” Jonas said. “We are at a stage now where tradition is great, but we want to win AFL premierships.

“If co-captains is the best way to achieve that goal, then let’s make that decision rather than be bound by a tradition.”

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