Dual Brownlow Medal winner one of three skippers at SydneyJUST the surnames are recognisable as some of modern football's great players: Farmer, Wanganeen, Long, Johnson -- premiership players and former VFL/AFL club captains.
Now, Adam Goodes, a dual Brownlow medallist, joins that select group of Indigenous footballer to captain VFL/AFL clubs after his appointment to the position today.
Goodes will co-captain the Sydney Swans with Brett Kirk and Craig Bolton. He has been part of the club's leadership group for the past six years and says the dual roles encourages the Swans' players to take on responsibility.
That's what the point of our whole system is," he said. "It's about succession and if you perform well, do the behaviours right at our football club, you're going to be rewarded for those behaviours.
You start as a young kid, you do those behaviours, you get the respect, you get the votes to come into the leadership group and if you continually do the right thing then you'll earn more respect."
Goodes, who was drafted to the club in 1997, was the AFL's Rising Star winner in 1999, won the Brownlow Medal in 2003 and 2006 and is a premiership player with the Swans (2005). He said there was still more to work to do in the way of personal development.
"I've still got things to work on with my leadership," he said. "It's great that I have got other leaders here at the football club to help me through those things with Kirky and Craig above me now and also Hally (Barry Hall) and Stewie Maxfield still at the club that can really help me with my on-field leadership."
Previous Indigenous VFL/AFL club captains
Graham Farmer Geelong captain 1965-1967
Gavin Wanganeen Port Adelaide captain 1997-2001
Michael Long Essendon co-captain 1999
Chris Johnson Brisbane Lions co-captain 2007
DARREN MONCRIEFF
Darren@AboriginalFootball.com.au
Friday, February 13, 2009
Last Modified on 13/02/2009 15:40