PORT ADELAIDE'S David Koch, Ken Hinkley, Tom Jonas and Ollie Wines addressed the media following the announcement that Jonas would lead the club as captain in 2020.
Here are the main takeaways from Friday's press conference:
DK on the captaincy decision and what drives the leaders of the club:
“It’s not all about listening to the fans. It is listening to our people and making a decision that is best for the club as a whole.
“I make plenty of unpopular decisions. I have made plenty of unpopular decisions in the minds of many of our fans in the last 12 months, in the last six years.
“But always, the intention is to do what is best for this club as a whole. That’s what I’m driven by.
“We are not a club who is solely driven by fans. There are a lot of stakeholders in this club. There is a lot of responsibility as we are simply trustees of this incredible organisation that has been going for 150 years.
“What each and every one of us wants to do is whenever we leave this club, we leave it in a better position than what we found it.
“Today’s decision is a part of that, but there are plenty of other decisions. That’s what leadership is about. You make tough decisions.
DK on how the leadership won’t change significantly from last season”
“Frankly, the model doesn’t change in practicality.
“In terms of the football department and the playing group, the leadership is still with Tom, Ollie and Hamish.
“I think the playing group will agree that they will virtually - in practicality - see no difference. But in terms of our people and the iconic nature of the number 1 guernsey it is important to return to that.
“We have a modern leadership structure within the playing group.
OW on this year’s leadership and his aspirations in the future:
“Tom is the most capable to lead us at this stage,”
“I’m sure I can speak on behalf of myself and the playing group - he is the one to lead us at this stage. We will follow him to the edge of the earth.
“To be standing beside him along with Harts, it’s as much an honour as I’ve had.
“Harts and I had a fair part to play in it,”
“We know each other fairly well. So talking about that decision with Ken, it was pretty clear cut that out of the three, he was the best man for the job.
“Yeah definitely,”
“Like him. Like Harts. Like our playing list. We want to win games, and if that puts us in the best position, and I’m the man to lead. I have aspirations to do that role.”
TJ on the respect he has for Ollie Wines:
“I think also as we sit here today and listening to Ollie talk and the way he is conducting himself, it says plenty about the leader he is.
“I’m sure the boys sitting over there feel exactly the same way. Like Kochie touched on, that won’t change his role within the group.
“It’s still going to be Hamish, Ollie and I leading this bunch of really exciting young blokes, and we are going to turn them into a football team that our members, supporters and the whole club are proud of.”
DK on what the club stands for:
“We pride ourselves on being an innovative club.
“We pride ourselves on not being afraid to try something different. But also, we are a club that prides itself on being inclusive. Being based in our community.
“We have incredibly engaged people as a whole with the Port Adelaide Football Club, and they made it very clear that it’s one of the icons of the club that should say.
“We are not afraid to keep moving and to keep trying different things.
KH on the co-captaincy model last year:
“It was something we wanted to have a go at and something we thought was absolutely right for the football program.
“It worked really well because we sit here with three young people - with Tommy as the captain - who are better prepared to do the opportunities that they’ve got now in front of them.
“What you have to consider, and I’m not frightened to make some tough calls, but I’ve been honest with this situation. This is a whole of football club decision.
KH on Port Adelaide’s members:
“I’ve seen the board as we have come down - 39,576 members.
“They are the reason we exist, and we are going to continue to represent them as well as we can.
“One of their key things is they love the idea of number 1 on the jumper, and we totally support that as a football club.
TJ on the honour of being named captain:
“It’s an absolute honour to be able to pull on the number 1 next year and follow in the footsteps of some of the great leaders this club has had.
“I don’t think I will change as a player, but it’s an absolute privilege to wear that and be able to lead these boys and our club, and all of our membership and supporters, and our great community.
“We just want to go out there and play a brand of footy that all of those people are proud of.
