New St Kilda captain Jarryn Geary feels a little uncomfortable having his name sit alongside some of club’s icons

JARRYN Geary says he will always shift uneasily when he looks at the roll call of St Kilda captains but it’s his level of humility that has earned the respect of his Saints teammates.

Nick Riewoldt has passed on the captaincy to Jarryn Geary. Picture: Colleen Petch

JARRYN Geary says he will always shift uneasily when he looks at the roll call of St Kilda captains.

The hard-nosed small defender joins some icons Nick Riewoldt, Robert Harvey and Trevor Barker as Saints skippers, knowing their individual on-field brilliance will always outweigh his own.

“When you reel off names like that, and put yourself alongside them, it’s never going to sit comfortably with me,” Geary said.

“I will be feeling overwhelmed by that part of it for a long period of time.”

It’s a level of humility and modesty that has made the shut-down backman one of the Saints’ most popular and respected teammates, as the club navigated a full list rebuild and tricky transition period from 2011.

But what the 28-year-old may lack in profile, for now, or flashiness on the field, Geary tries to make up for with his unwavering dedication and steel-edge competitiveness.

From Bendigo, the former rookie laughed that he barely made enough money in his first few seasons to do much more than eat, sleep and train.

New St Kilda skipper Jarryn Geary will lead by example. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

But his commitment has paid off as he takes the reins of one of the AFL’s most talented young lists.

“When you get rookie-listed, you can be a little bit pig­eon-holed for your whole career, which is fine,” he said.

“But it gives you a sense of competitiveness, because you want to prove you can beat some of the people you are playing against.

“My role is to def­end some of the better players in the competition, and I get a good sense of satisfaction when I can quell their influence.

“I’ve always wanted to be a competitor who can do a job for the team and do whatever it takes to perform that role.

“I just love being a part of a team.”

Promoted to the senior list in 2007, Geary was an emergency for three Grand Final teams, with the pain on his teammates’ faces after the losses to Geelong and Collingwood in 2009 and 2010 still etched in his mind.

“I’ve been in Grand Final parades and warmed up in three Grand Finals, with the draw — the hardest part was watching the boys run out on the field and watching them come back in afterwards and seeing their disappointment,” he said.

“I wouldn’t want to be in that position ever again, and miss out on playing on the day and watching another bunch of blokes run out.

“I want to be a part of it, and that’s something which just really, really drives me.”

Jarryn Geary will succeed Nick Riewoldt as St Kilda’s skipper. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

In recent seasons, Geary has become one of the competition’s best and most courageous small defenders, help­ing keep gun sharpshooters such as Eddie Betts, Brent Harvey, Daniel Menzel and Jeff Garlett quiet last season.

Now a key on and off-field pillar at the club, coach Alan Richardson lauded Geary for his selflessness, attention to detail and work ethic.

The coach said Geary was the right man to lead the club into the new era as part of a fresh-faced leadership group.

“He’s one of those guys who his teammates trust impeccably,” Richardson said.

“The way he goes about his footy and everything he does is for the team, and he prepares as well as anybody else, and that’s not only at our footy club.

“It is pretty hard to have respect if you don’t play the game the right way, if you aren’t prepared to put your body on the line, so he gets a massive tick there.

Jarryn Geary has become one of the competition’s best small defenders. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

“He just works his backside off to get the best out of himself and he has the courage to challenge people. In that respect he’s a really good communicator.

“So while we have got some pretty impressive people coming through, we think he is the most complete in all of those areas and his peers have voted accordingly.”

The Saints have been looking for Riewoldt’s replacement for three seasons.

Geary said while it had been an ongoing conversation, he was still caught a little off-guard when Rie­woldt delivered the unofficial news at one of their regular coffee catch-ups last week.

“I’ve got a great relationship with Nick on the field and away from the club, and he was the one who indicated to me where the voting had gone,” he said.

“It was a pretty special ­moment for me.

“We’ve had that chat about some of the things to expect and the role he is happy to play for me and be a really valuable resource for me.

“He’s obviously such a wonderful person and I’m going to be in a great position to lead the club with him still around.”