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Opinion Top five captains in the AFL right now.

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Aristotle Pickett the3rd

Aristotle Pickett the3rd

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Oct 19, 2020
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I saw this article from Luke Hodge on his top 5 captains right now.

He had
1.Noah Anderson
2. Jordan Dawson
3.Marcus Bontempeli
4. Zac Merrett
5. Darcy Moore
Honorable Mention: Toby Green.

www.sen.com.au

Luke Hodge’s top five captains in the AFL right now

The premiership skipper has rated the top leaders.
www.sen.com.au www.sen.com.au

The current captains are-
Jordan Dawson (Adelaide)Harris Andrews/Lachie Neale (Brisbane Lions)Patrick Cripps (Carlton)Darcy Moore (Collingwood)Zach Merrett (Essendon)Alex Pearce (Fremantle)Patrick Dangerfield (Geelong)Noah Anderson (Gold Coast)Toby Greene (Greater Western Sydney)James Sicily (Hawthorn)Max Gawn (Melbourne)Jy Simpkin (North Melbourne)Connor Rozee (Port Adelaide)Toby Nankervis (Richmond)Jack Steele (St Kilda)Callum Mills (Sydney)Oscar Allen/Liam Duggan (West Coast)Marcus Bontempelli (Western Bulldogs)
 
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I would say
1.Marcus Bontompelli
2. Patrick Dangerfield
3. Max Gawn
4. Jordan Dawson
5. Toby Nankervis
 
I’ve not really had much of an opinion on Dangerfield as a captain previously, he’s neither here nor there beyond just setting a good example by always giving his best as an actual player, but he has definitely gone to that ‘just get out of my way and I’ll do it myself’ and showing the way-level when we’ve needed it this year.
 
1. James Sicily
2. Toby Greene
3. Noah Anderson
4. Connor Rozee
5. Zach Merrett
 

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I'm not sure why Callum Mills is captain. The club don't respect him, as illustrated by last years grand final, when he declared himself fit and they didn't pick him.
 
Captaincy is such an amorphous thing, clubs seem to use their captaincy differently. "Oldest player who isn't gonna be in the papers for the wrong reason" might be one criterion.

PhatBoy s point about Dangerfield is fair, I'd say that's exemplary captaincy, as in the captain sets an example for others to follow. Maybe you could call it responsible leadership too, as in they respond in a crisis. Lots of leaders do this, not just captains.

There's on field coaching, Pendles is the doyen here, countermanded Flys rotation in the "Daicos play" in the 23 gf (with the coaches blessing). Once again not purely the captains' role. Malthouse at Richmond was the archetype, he was "captain of the defence ", and David Parkin empowered players to be their own captains at Hawthorn and Carlton.

Speech making is a minor part fwiw Darcy Moore is the current best. He believes in the stuff he's talking about so it's not just talk, but it's outside the game so peripheral. It's about the only purely captains skill. Only the captain makes the captains speech.

Emotional leadership. WTF am I saying? Not sure, but I think it's real. There's some captains who's actions seem to reverberate more with their men. Bont. Cripps. Pearce. You see them shoulder the whole team.

GAJ did not have it, could play a game fit for the Gods and his team mates would go through the motions. Sicily has it sometimes, when he's off the Hawks deflate.

Bont probably the best all round but there's plenty of fine leaders and fine captains.
 
Lets be honest, as 'outsiders' we can never judge who the best captain is.

This isnt cricket where the captain makes on field decisions.

Is Nankervis a good captain? I wouldnt have a clue.
Is Sicily a good captain even though his form is complete trash? Not sure.
Is Oscar Allen a good captain even though he met with an opposition team mid-season? I would assume not?
 
What has Bont done as a leader that gets him such high praise as a captain? hes a great player. but he's captained a team that underperforms most seasons and has off field issues /players wanting out on a regular basis. seems a bit of a Judd type captaincy wise
 
1- Lachie Neale
2- Pat Dangerfield
3- Pat Cripps
4- Max Gawn
5- Zach Merrett
5- Toby Greene
 
Liam Duggan

Too soon?
 

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Would have to be lined up against nominated criteria like the rubrics they used in academia today. The pundits seem to think that Anderson or Dawson will get the nod for the AA skipper.
 
Sea fog said:
Would have to be lined up against nominated criteria like the rubrics they used in academia today. The pundits seem to think that Anderson or Dawson will get the nod for the AA skipper.
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Though both have been amazing this year, I'd be surprised if either of them were named as AA Captain given Dawson only has one AA jumper before this year, and Anderson none.

It is usually given to a perennial All-Australian in their 4th, 5th or 6th year as AA (i.e. Franklin was given the nod one year despite never being captain of his own team).
 

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Opinion Top five captains in the AFL right now.

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