All 18 captains from each club in the AFL came to Marvel Stadium this afternoon ahead of the 2023 season starting next week. West Coast skipper Luke Shuey was the only captain today not present, having defender Liam Duggan step in today as part of the Eagles' leadership group.
The lineup included nine new captains to lead their club this season, the captaincy changes too has equalled the record for the most swaps in an V/AFL season. Amongst the new captains was Brownlow medallist Patrick Dangerfield who recently took over the role from Joel Selwood's departure at the end of their Premiership win last season.
Darcy Moore is one of the nine captains who will be leading his side for the first time this season, following in Peter his father's footsteps.
Moore talked to the media ahead of the season including last season's Rising Star winner Nick Daicos who was tagged in Collingwood's practice match against Hawthorn last week.
Collingwood Captain Darcy Moore talking to the media ahead of the 2023 AFL season starting next week. Image: Matt Haug
"It's pretty unique isn't it for a second year player to get that amount of attention in a practice game and I thought he handled it really well," he said.
"Nick's had another great preseason which is really exciting and fortunately he's a versatile player, he can play a few different roles for us which is great".
Moore too discussed what we can expect from Jordan De Goey and his incidents away from the field where he took time away from the club last season.
"Jordan's preseason has been as good as I've seem him do for a number of years. He's been really consistent, after the Christmas break he hasn't missed a beat and I think we saw that in the preseason games," Moore expressed.
"I think he's really benefiting from that stability which is pretty exciting for us, and it's pretty intimidating and scary for the competition."
Adelaide's Jordan Dawson who too is leading his team for his first season, spoke about how much it meant for him to be handed this much responsibility only being at the club for his second year.
Adelaide Captain Jordan Dawson talking to the media at the MCG today ahead of the 2023 AFL season starting next week. Image: Matt Haug
"As a SA boy growing up supporting the Crows it's something I never really dreamed of and I think the timing of it is probably spot on, and the players voting me in is pretty special," he said.
Dawson expressed what the goal for Adelaide is ahead of the season, and believes a lot of the playing group is ready to show to the rest of the competition.
"Definitely as a group we wanna keep growing and for us it's about finishing higher on the ladder, and it's time for those guys to step up which they're showing already. It's important for the group and team that we have the consistency, Dawson stated"
The 2023 AFL season starts next Thursday night where arch-rivals the Tigers will be hosting the Blues at a sold out MCG.
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