HAMISH HARTLETT will become Port Adelaide’s 17th AFL vice-captain following the selection of its new leadership group.
He will be the standalone vice-captain to returned skipper Travis Boak, who was overwhelmingly endorsed to wear Port Adelaide’s No. 1 jumper as club captain again in 2016.
An exhaustive process was used to select Port Adelaide’s new player leaders, incorporating votes from senior administrators as well as every player and coach.
That process has seen Hartlett rise to the vice-captaincy in place of Brad Ebert and Matthew Lobbe, who will remain part of the Power's broader leadership group.
The 25-year-old’s growth as one of the club's senior lieutenants has only increased since he first joined the leadership group four years ago.
Known for a vocal presence on the field, Hartlett will work with the Power's leaders to maintain the elite standards of the entire playing group.
“To be seen as the type of person worthy of vice-captaincy is something I’m very proud of and very appreciative of too,” Hartlett told portadelaidefc.com.au.
“I think every leader brings a different dynamic to the leadership group, and first and foremost, from my perspective, a leader needs to set the right standards in the way they train and away from the club as well.
“But communication these days is becoming more and more important in games of footy.
“There’s a lot going on in terms of structures that we need to set in place, the way the game is unfolding and the changes we sometimes need to put in place from play-to-play.
“From the forwards to the mids and the mids to the backs – communication is crucial.”
On the back of his first “niggle-free” pre-season since being drafted to the Power, Hartlett is enthusiastic about his personal potential this year.
“It’s certainly the best pre-season I’ve had on a personal level, pretty much every pre-season before this one I’ve had something come up, but I’ve got through this one unscathed," Hartlett said.
“I gain a great deal of confidence from being able to be on track day after day, and week after week.
“It’s fantastic when you can see little improvements in your own game that spur you on, and the incredible summer from the whole playing group is really motivation enough.”
First recognised as a leader in 2012, Hartlett’s elevation is the result of hard work off the field, as well as his in-game performance and strong output on the track this summer.
Port Adelaide senior coach Ken Hinkley praised Hartlett’s last eight months as being representative of the standards expected of his players in 2016.
“Since we really started playing what I would call ‘Port Adelaide football’ in the back half of last year, Hamish really showed the quality he can bring to our group on the field and also on the track,” Hinkley told portadelaidefc.com.au.
“He has only grown further over this pre-season and the confidence the players and coaches have in him is really shown through him becoming our vice-captain.
“On-field is really important but off-field is so vital in this competition as well, which is why we had players, coaches and club executives vote on our leadership – this is going to be a club leadership group, not just one for our team.
“Hamish works hard in every aspect of his role as a player and a club man.”
Although Hartlett takes on the vice-captaincy, Matthew Lobbe and Brad Ebert will remain part of the Power’s formal leadership.
That, says Hinkley, is a decision made based on a number of development needs within the playing group.
“It’s not that either Lobbes or Ebo have gone backwards in their leadership, it’s that Hamish has really improved his,” Hinkley said.
“Both Brad and Matty have had plenty of strong development in terms of their leadership over the past few years and they will continue to set a strong example as part of the broader group – they know that’s their job.
“Elevating Hamish to the vice-captaincy gives Hamish an opportunity to keep improving his leadership in one of our most senior positions – which is very important for the team.”
portadelaidefc.com.au will reveal the rest of the Power’s leadership group at 7.30am ACDT on Friday morning.
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