2020 was a year of change for Tom Jonas.
The reliable backman was installed as Port Adelaide's sole captain and shifted into the traditional captain’s number 1 guernsey, his side led the competition for the whole season before falling short in the Preliminary Final and he and his wife Millie welcomed their first child.
The qualified lawyer and businessman – who runs wine label Hey Diddle Wines with former teammate Brad Ebert – has plenty on his plate, but has embraced the challenges of footy, life and fatherhood.
“I’m not the first bloke to do it so I don’t want to make too much of a thing about it,” Jonas said during a press conference on Friday.
“I’ve been incredibly lucky with the support both from the club and the boys but also from my wife Millie, she’s great.
“We’re lucky enough we’re both from South Australia so we’ve got the extended families right around the corner so we’re in a much more fortunate spot than most and we’re enjoying it.”
Baby Matilda’s arrival in September heralded a big lifestyle change for Jonas.
The stability of Port’s playing list and club leadership has made the transition into fatherhood somewhat easier.
The addition of Darcy Byrne-Jones into the leadership group is the only real change of the off-season.
“Not much has changed over this off-season,” Jonas said reflecting on his first year as captain.
“It’s an absolute privilege to lead this club alongside those other boys and adding Darcy into the mix.
“It’s a great little (leadership) group we’ve got. It’s a great group we have and they make my job pretty easy.
“Last year we obviously had a reasonably successful season, albeit we didn’t finish where we wanted to and during those times leadership is probably easier than when things aren’t going your way – that’s when the real challenges come.”
Known to be stern and demanding, and a leader by example on the field, Jonas is a highly regarded captain at the club despite being relatively new to the role.
The key, Jonas explained, is simplicity.
“I’ve just learnt to lead in my own way and not try and change who I am and not try and be Travis Boak or Dom Cassisi but be myself,” he said.
“I’m never going to be able to win the game off my own boot so I’m not trying to do that.
“If I play my role and encourage everyone else to play their role then as a collective, we’ll be able to achieve what we’re setting out to achieve.”
Jonas and his teammates have their eyes on a premiership in 2021 and he explained that that is always the expectation of Port Adelaide, whether it is spoken about or not.
Port Adelaide will get its AFL season underway against North Melbourne on March 21 at Marvel Stadium.
