Melbourne unveils duel captains
Nathan Jones joins incumbent Jack Grimes as joint skippers under new coach Paul Roos.
PT1M59S http://ift.tt/1b6N4f2 620 349 January 29, 2014 - 5:55PM
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Melbourne will continue with its co-captaincy model for 2014, electing Nathan Jones to partner incumbent Jack Grimes as joint skippers under new coach Paul Roos.
Grimes retains his post for 2014 after sharing the duties for the past two seasons with Jack Trengove, while Jones steps into fill the position for the first time after eight seasons with the Demons.
The now 26-year-old Jones is a popular figure at the club for his hard-nosed attack on the ball, and had been linked with the captaincy for the past 18 months after the Demons slumped badly under former coach Mark Neeld, and Trengove and Grimes struggled to carry the burden as young captains.
Still a co-captain: Jack Grimes. Photo: Joe Armao
Melbourne unveiled their two captains at AAMI Park on Wednesday, introducing them as part of a six-man leadership group that also includes key forward Mitch Clark and key defenders James Frawley and Colin Garland.
Answering questions at the media conference on Wednesday, Jones declared he was "up for the challenge".
"I'm ready to deal with the extra pressure. Grimesy and I will complement each other," he said.
Midfielder Nathan Jones. Photo: Sebastian Costanzo
Grimes, now 24 and coming into his seventh year at the Demons, said he would better a captain this year having been through the down times over the past two seasons.
"I've learnt a lot in the last couple of years and to be able to continue to lead this club forward is a huge honour," Grimes said.
"The first thing I said to Jonesy was to not change because that's the reason he has got himself into this position."
Trengove, the youngest captain in the game's history when appointed at the start of 2012, decided to relinquish the title in November last year to concentrate on his own development.
However Roos said he was keen to continue as a role model having been selected by his team-mates.
"He wants to concentrate on his game, but there's no question he is a leader," the coach said.
The decision to appoint co-captains is an extension of the philosophy Roos used to build the "bloods" culture at Sydney.
Roos made it clear the coaching staff had the final say on the choice of captain, after the players had gone through the Leading Teams process to select the leadership group.
"It was a little bit more transparent than it has been in other years," Roos said.
"But it’s a bit of a myth that the players pick the captain, the players pick the leadership group," he said.
"I think it’s really important that the captain is picked from that group by the coaching staff and the board, etc."
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