PORT ADELAIDE's Darcy Byrne-Jones will bid farewell to captain Tom Jonas at the conclusion of the season, with Jonas announcing his retirement earlier this week.
Serving as part of Jonas’s leadership group since 2021, Byrne-Jones says his teammate and friend has been an inspirational leader throughout his tenure.
The 27-year-old spoke to the media on Thursday about his switch to the forward line, the looming challenge of finals and how his retiring captain has impacted his career.
Byrne-Jones on Tom Jonas
“He's just been an inspirational leader, especially for myself. When he first came to the club, he was a really hard, brutal kind of guy, (but) he's softened a little bit. Deep down, really caring and a great leader and a really good friend of mine as well so I'll be sad to see him go. A lot of my leadership has sort of been moulded on what he's like as a leader, just helping with little things. He's always been a sounding board for me for anything I've ever had to ask him, so he's helped me immensely.
Byrne-Jones on the possibility of Jonas not playing finals
“It's a hard one, it's a situation I don’t know if anyone's been in, in terms of the captain potentially not being in the side for finals. TJ's handled it so well, he hasn't brought any negative impact toward the group, he's just been super positive so we'll have to see what happens with selection, if Trent (McKenzie) gets himself right and that kind of thing. But TJ's handled himself so well, it's an inspiration to see how he's gone through and how he's conducted himself.”
Byrne-Jones on other AFL results this weekend
“There are some results that depending which way they go it can have an impact on us. It's a tough one, you don't want to read too much into it, you just want to focus on what we can control and that's going out on Sunday and playing well, playing good footy and winning. The other results will go however they go and we will go into finals feeling really confident.”
Byrne-Jones on playing the first final at the Gabba or the MCG
“It's a tough question, we haven't played at the Gabba for a while now. It's a tough ground to go to no doubt and they (Brisbane) play it well. We go there, we go to the MCG, they're both going to be challenging places to play but we’re up for it, we're excited. It's not every year you get to finish in the top four and give yourself a chance to go deep into finals so I can’t wait.”
Byrne-Jones on the change in his position
“It's been a funny year on a personal note. I did the whole pre-season down back and got swung forward earlier in the year and I've just been trying to as best as I can to adapt and help those around me. We've got some talented guys in the forward line so it's not my job to be kicking all the goals or doing all the flashy stuff, so it's just helping out those guys and doing the best I can for the team to help us win really. I am enjoying my time forward, no doubt, but for me it's whatever the team needs, wherever the coaching staff, Kenny and Chad and Bass think that I fit in best for the team.”
Byrne-Jones on selection versus Richmond
“I'd say (resting players) unlikely considering there is that bye in between that gives guys time to rest up and get the body right and go into that first final really fresh. You also don’t want to flirt with form and not playing this week would mean two or three weeks in between games so I'm not sure guys would be too keen to do that. There's still the opportunity for us to improve our position, you always want to be playing as good a footy as you can going into finals so it's an important game for us no matter what happens.”
