Connor Rozee was officially unveiled as Port Adelaide's new AFL captain on Monday, with friend and teammate Zak Butters named vice-captain. 

Native South Australian Rozee becomes the eighth player to wear the number one guernsey, taking over from retiring skipper Tom Jonas. 

Rozee, Butters and senior coach Ken Hinkley spoke to the Adelaide media on Monday to discuss all things leadership, along with Rozee's eight-year contract extension. 

Rozee on being named captain 
“It's obviously a very exciting time for not only me personally but my family but also the wider playing group and club so I'm just excited really just to get into next season. We've made some pretty major changes with our leadership group and I think we can bring a bit of excitement and young energy to the group and hopefully take us to some success over the next few years.” 

Rozee on finding out about becoming captain 
“We've been talking about it for a while now. I've been doing a little bit of work, along with Zak, with the leadership group last year, just trying to learn a few more thing about leadership and what it takes and I guess through the off-season, had some conversations with the senior people at our football club and they let us know they would like Zak and I to step up and do the role after Tommy Jonas. I was obviously on board with that and I'm super excited to just get under way and see what the future holds.” 

Rozee on what he’s learned about himself  
“A lot. There's a lot of different things that I guess comes with being a leader and Tom's been great. I've been able to use him as a sounding board and ask him a lot of questions but also Travis Boak who has been a previous captain and Ollie Wines as well so we've got some great leaders at our football club that I've been able to bounce ideas off of. I feel like I'm ready now, I'm still only 23 but I feel like I'm a mature 23-year-old ready to take this club forward and hopefully lead it to some success.” 

Rozee on his eight-year contract extension 
“There was never doubt in my mind that I wanted to be at this club for basically my entire career. I was lucky enough to have some great people around me – my manager Ben Williams and his wife Jade, they've done some great work and the decision was really easy when I got to that stage of talking about contracts. For me, it was the longer, the better. I want to be here for my entire career and now I can focus solely on doing what it takes to take the club to some success.” 

Rozee on when he started pursuing leadership 
“Probably a couple of years ago, it almost comes upon you a little bit when you start playing well which makes it a little bit easier to feel a bit more comfortable and part of the group. I think I've always been that sort of personality that's wanted to lead people and make other people better. So probably a couple of years ago and then that obviously it got fast-tracked this year with Tommy retiring so it's come to a head at the moment and I'm just excited to get into the role and see what happens.” 

Rozee on having Butters as vice-captain 
“It's probably the best case scenario for me personally to have my best mate as my right hand man. We obviously got drafted together and have a really close relationship both on and off the field. We're slightly different personalities which I think is going to be a strength for us as well going forward, along with the wider leadership group that was announced today, I think we've got such a great mix of characters and we've got a great relationship, Zak and I. I can’t wait to lead this club forward with one of my best mates, it's awesome.” 

Rozee on the type of leader he will be 
“I think that's probably up for discussion. I'm not sure and I haven't been the captain of a senior football club before so I'm excited to evolve into whatever leader that takes me to be. I feel like I've got great relationships with everyone at the football club, not only the players but also the wider club. I'm probably not as stern and straight down the line as Tommy Jonas, I prefer to be a bit more of a person that chucks the arm around the younger players and I've also got relationships with the younger and older players, which I think is a benefit. I'll try not to change and my personality I'm sure will come out over the next few years. I'm not sure what it will be but I'm excited.” 

Rozee on his own mentors 
“Probably the number one is my dad. Obviously having a great relationship with your father is pretty crucial to growing into a man and has shaped my personality a fair bit as well so I'm really grateful for everything that he has given me over the years, and also my mum as well. They've been two great role models for me. I've done a little bit of work with Travis Head over the last couple of years, him being South Australian and a leader as well. I could go on for days, I've had heaps of people that have reached out and have been kind enough to offer a chat or a coffee and just for me to ask questions so I'm really grateful for those people.” 

Rozee on working with Travis Head 
“(He’s) someone that I can reach out to with questions more than anything. When Nathan Bassett was at the club he set us up with someone outside of the football club to learn a bit of extra leadership stuff off of and I love my cricket so that was a good relationship for me. When he's back in Adelaide we're able to catch up and have a discussion about not only leadership but also life in general ad any questions that I've got.” 

Rozee on his previous captaincy experience 
“A little bit throughout juniors but that's clearly a lot different to being captain of an AFL side. I think my dad has helped mould me throughout my juniors and coached me for a lot of years in juniors and was able to push me to be a bit more of a leader of the playing group and I'm seeing the benefit of that now.” 

Hinkley on the leadership announcement 
“Today is a big day for our football club. Obviously a change in direction in some ways but ultimately with Connor announcing his extension and Zak just recently announcing his extension, we've also made a decision to announce our leadership group for the 2024 season and that will be with Connor being our captain, and Zak being our vice-captain, supported by a slightly larger leadership group with Willem Drew, Sam Powell-Pepper and Dan Houston supporting them in those roles. Connor will be our eighth captain at this level and he'll take over from Tom who's in the room, it's great to see Tom here to hand over the reins, (and for Connor) to step up and wear the number one for the Port Adelaide Football Club. It's a big moment and a moment that we're really proud of and a great opportunity for us as a football club to set a new direction with our youth and our leadership and puts us in a really strong position to push forward. 

“I think it's an enormous endorsement for the club and not just Connor, but Zak and all the boys. We've had a number of announcements over the last week (of contract extensions). We've always been, in my time certainly, very good at maintaining the people that we need to maintain at our football club. The culture of this footy club is really strong. That gets marked ultimately by success, we haven't been able to get to that level but we've certainly got a very strong football club and a lot of good people work in this football club and now we've got a another two young leaders of our football club that suggests we're in really capable hands with really strong leaders and I'm looking forward to the challenges of '24.” 

Hinkley on the process of appointing new leaders 
“It's been pretty clear from the time these two boys arrived that they’ve got leadership credentials and what they both bring is competitive spirit on the training track, the way they go about it, the way they play and their performance is ultimately the thing that sets you apart sometimes and these two play at really high levels.  

“I think the pleasing part for us is as a club, when we make this decision, we asked all of our players at the end of '23, who are the people going forward that they should look towards, knowing Tom had retired that there was going to be a change. And overwhelmingly the support of the playing group, the broader football club, the board, the football department, all of the coaches, it was really, really clear that both of these two young men were the right people to step up and take the challenge on. Previous captains, you know Travis was 24 when we announced him as captain and that worked out really well for Trav. Tom and Ollie have had their turn and taken their moments but I think it's a great opportunity and that's why the announcement's a bit earlier than we'd typically do it but we think it's important moment that we make the announcement early so that Connor and Zak and the broader group can get on with understanding the new program and the new people who are leading the program. That doesn’t mean the people necessarily the people who have been a part of that step away in any way, they actually step forward. But these two need to find their spot in this group and set their own style of leadership, which I'm really proud to see them step up and take it.” 

Hinkley on Ollie Wines 
“I think it's pretty important to acknowledge Ollie (Wines). Ollie's done an outstanding job in my entire time here, we came here together and he's been someone that's stepped up every time I've asked him to. Ollie was one of the first people I had these discussions with and to make sure that he was really comfortable with where things were at. Ol, by his own admission, he didn’t have the season he would have like in '23 from a performance point of view. I think this is a great moment for him to step into a supporting role and help these two boys lead in their own way and also allow him to get back to playing his absolute best football. I couldn't have asked him to be more supportive than when we had the discussion around what was the right direction for the club to take, he was the one as much as anyone that said, let them know it's their turn and it's their opportunity to lead this football club, but I'll be there to support them.” 

Hinkley on having all new leaders 
“Absolutely it was deliberate to expand the group and that's what you do, you have emerging leaders coming through and if you have an emerging leaders group, you actually have to allow them to emerge and for that to happen, you have to have other people move aside, they don't step down, they step sideways, they're still there. Darcy, Ollie, Travis, Charlie, all those more senior players at our football club, all know they still play a really important part in the direction of this football club. To emerge your leaders, you need to give them some space.” 

Hinkley on Sam Powell-Pepper’s inclusion in the leadership group 
“He's one of the people I'm most proud of, in my journey in football with his growth as a human being, as a man, and the way he's stepped up in his life. I think the three boys that are sitting underneath (the captain and vice-captain), they've all got their own stories. Sam's is a fantastic story that we're all pretty aware of. Drewy (Willem Drew), he was walking around on a stump for a while, his foot was no good for the first couple of years and we didn’t know how much footy he was going to play and then Dan (Houston) was our last pick in a rookie draft and they're now our new emerging leaders in this footy club. They're all great stories and that's why you need to let them come through because they've all got these great stories that they can help the next young group come through with and they're connected to those groups really strongly. They're as much a part of this announcement, those three boys, with what their journeys have been. 

Hinkley on Rozee’s long-term contract 
“You'd be delusional to think there's not risk but there's also reward in that and the reality is that if there's a better candidate for a long-term contract, I'm not sure where he is. Fit, firing, two All-Australians, best and fairest, he's ready. His best footy is still coming and we know that – we probably got him cheap I reckon! I don't think there's any doubt that Connor and Zak will more than earn what they are looked after with. Eight years, I just think it's great for our footy club. He's an Adelaide boy, he knows where home is, we've got his family sitting here with us - why wouldn't we? It's too easy of a decision. 

Hinkley on electing Rozee as captain over Butters 
“You're splitting hairs! Two All-Australians, maybe! They were drafted together, they've worked together, they've been in partnership together. Connor in his own words, he has got that little step ahead of Zak with the maturity part, Zak can sometimes blow up a little bit easier than the other. He's a bit calmer and has been a great influence on Zak. They're both incredibly important players and they could both equally be captain of this club. The reality is, Connor's the right choice and Zak is the right choice to back him up. I think if you ask these two, they would be pretty happy with the same positions too.” 

Butters on his appointment as vice-captain 
“I was speaking to Connor before and saying time goes pretty quick. You look back four, five six years ago when we got drafted you probably don't think you're going to end up in this position but I'm very grateful and honoured and I'm looking forward to being his right-hand man. He's the boss so I'll just do what he says.” 

Butters on his leadership 
“I think for me I just want to make sure I'm playing the best footy I can and lead by action, if anything, and then probably to work on those relationships and making my teammates better as well.” 

Butters on his own mentors
“My person outside of the footy club was Darren Cahill so I’ve caught up with him a fair bit. He's done a lot in an elite environment with elite tennis players so he was a good touchpoint for me. I caught up with him a fair bit last year and developed a really good relationship there. The main (other) one for me has probably been Kenny over the journey, his office door is always open and he's been really good and supportive. He knows the right time to throw the arm around you and care and he will also give you a clip when you need it as well so I think he's been as big as anyone.”