Mick Malthouse rates every AFL captain in finals contention
Trent Cotchin is a three-time premiership skipper but recently he has not been sending the right message to his teammates — and he is not alone, writes Mick Malthouse.
AFL
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It’s not pot-luck that you win a grand final.
It is generally years of planning, working hard, having the right people in the right
jobs. And when it gets narrowed down to who runs on to the ground, it’s about
leadership and who can take over from the coach and best implement his message.
Throughout world sport we can identify a club generally by the way the captain
behaves. The way they uphold the principals of the coach and the culture of the club.
The skipper’s job is highly reflective of the way the team plays its game. It is no
different in the AFL.
As we enter an uncertain finals series – due to Covid, and a still undecided top
eight – much will depend on the performance and leadership of the captains.
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I appointed only a few captains in my coaching journey, but each one was
instrumental in supporting my view and the game structure, particularly in the
premiership years.
John Worsfold at West Coast led from the front and set a fantastic physical example. No job was too big for him. He was well liked and respected by his teammates.
Nick Maxwell at Collingwood enforced a very different game structure – a high and
hard press on the opposition. I have no doubt this contributed to the 2010
premiership, because without his demanding performance as captain, insisting that
everyone stick to the one plan, it would have unravelled.
Both were magnificent leaders.
Strangely enough, in 1980, Richmond captain Bruce Monteath started on the bench
because his form had deteriorated, but nonetheless we respected him as a player
and captain, and I am grateful for how he led our team to a premiership.
This year’s finals series may effectively come down to who leads the best.
The old cliché: cut the head off the snake and the body will die; is very appropriate in
finals footy.
I have said in the past that Joel Selwood has willed Geelong over the line on multiple
occasions. He may not be the Cats’ most important player this year, I think that falls
to Tom Stewart, but Selwood’s willingness, toughness and competitiveness will
ensure Geelong is ready to go.
Selwood is a no excuse captain. He is at his best when the Cats are at their worst.
Max Gawn is similar. They inspire from within. Players cannot get complacent or
downhearted when they see the work of their leaders. They simply leave nothing on
the ground.
Melbourne is where it is on the ladder, yes, due to game structural changes and the
improvement of an excellent midfield including Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver, but also because the Demons’ heart-and-soul player is Gawn.
He has been outstanding for them from the time he landed at the club, went through the horrors of a knee reconstruction, to now where he continues to be a club beacon.
Gawn wears his heart on his sleeve and is rarely beaten. Melbourne’s premiership
aspirations really do hang by a Max Gawn thread.
It’s not hard to fall in love with the Western Bulldogs’ relatively new skipper, Marcus
Bontempelli. He has grown as a leader before our eyes, and he is the Dogs’ most
important player because he is their best player.
He is in for a lot of attention this finals series so it’s important for the Bulldogs’
fortunes that he gets all the on-field support possible, particularly through the likes of
Jack Macrae, plus Stefan Martin and Easton Wood if they are available.
Bontempelli needs the team to rally not only behind him, but with him.
The most vulnerable captains during finals are the ones who are not just the best
players but also the most important ones to spark action.
When you’re a seasoned leader like Trent Cotchin, Selwood, Gawn, and Josh
Kennedy you know what to expect. This will be a wonderful test for Bontempelli,
captain of the No.1 team in the league, and the TAB’s Brownlow Medal favourite. He will
need to be as inspirational as Bob Murphy was in 2016, regrettably that he missed
the premiership through injury.
Port Adelaide’s Tom Jonas is the quiet unassuming type. He lets his actions do the
talking. As an undersized key-back he is someone Ken Hinkley cannot do without.
And so far he has held up his end of the bargain.
Perhaps the most improved side of the year and the one who has continued to
astound us is Sydney. It is in the rare position of having three players share the
captaincy – Josh Kennedy, Dane Rampe and Luke Parker. This does spread the
workload – it’s far harder to cut the head off three snakes than one!
They’ve all been a model of consistency, providing outstanding direction for a young
and exciting Swans team.
On the flip side of the coin I feel that Dayne Zorko struggles to uphold the Brisbane
Lions’ ethos. He can be undisciplined and taken out of the game for far too long at
times. When the Lions run down the race it’s sometimes hard to identify who is
leading the charge.
What was promised by Brisbane at the end of last year, has slowly and surely been
eroded. It is difficult to identify what the Lions want, and this is where the captain must be
at the forefront. There is little time left for Zorko to re-establish the Lions as a
genuine finals threat.
Trent Cotchin is a premiership captain three times over, but he too, and only
recently, has become highly undisciplined when the Tigers are struggling. This does
not send the right message to his teammates.
But at his best, Cotchin leads the Tigers in magnificent fashion with excellent
on-field direction, so it is difficult to be too critical of him.
West Coast and Fremantle each have captains who have been in and out of the side
with injury. One club will perhaps hang on for a spot in the final eight.
Nat Fyfe is out for the year from all accounts, but as much as he is a very good
player I don’t believe he leads the Dockers anywhere near as well as the top echelon
of captains in the AFL.
Luke Shuey inherited the job from Shannon Hurn who was an outstanding
premiership captain for the Eagles, but Shuey hasn’t quite filled those shoes yet.
Giant Stephen Coniglio and Bomber Dyson Heppell won’t play for their respective
clubs this week because of injury, further adding to the lack of consistency from both
clubs.
For Greater Western Sydney to hang on, Toby Greene has been an outstanding fill-in captain. It’s all about deed instead of talk for him, and his teammates respond to that.
The other two teams still in contention have had indifferent performances from their
leaders. Patrick Cripps and Sam Docherty at Carlton have been either injured or out
of form, and St Kilda’s Jack Steele shoulders the full brunt of leadership at the Saints
which is a lot to handle when you are also the key contributor.
I am in awe of great leadership, in sport and politics. As we figure out a way through
Covid, eight AFL captains must also find a way through September. It won’t be
easy, but it will be worth it.
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