by Jamie Devenish (@jamie_devo)
GIVING up the captaincy was a tough decision, but one I knew I had to make.
When Nick Cowan’s fiancé bailed me up at a club function last season and told me that it was time for me to hand over the reins, I’d never been more scared for my life – that’s not true of course.
In fact they aren’t even engaged. But I figure I’ll be in enough trouble for this paragraph anyway, so I may as well throw that line in at a mate’s expense.
Being captain of the Eastern Lions is something I’ve always been incredibly proud of.
When I started playing senior football, I wanted to be like my captain Leigh Rankin or his predecessor Danny Russo. They were honest, loyal and tough – three traits which, in turn, commanded respect from those around them. I was never tough, but as Meatloaf says, “two out of three ain’t bad”.
For a football club, a captain is the sort of role that is what you make it.
To some, a captain could really just be the one to toss the coin and give the final pep talk that goes in one ear and out the other. Far less involved on game day than perhaps a cricket captain, who needs to worry about field settings, bowling changes and afternoon tea!
For a blue collar club like the Eastern Lions though, I always felt far more responsibility and sensed far more opportunity. I loved the club culture setting, the collective team values and the underdog challenges.
As it stands, with another new coach at the Den in 2014, off-season shoulder surgery and various work commitments, the time was right to take a step back.
The truth is, while I’m young in some people’s eyes at 29-years-old, my knees are more like 39, my hips more like 49 and my shoulders are somewhere in their 70’s.
Honest, loyal – and in need of a physio.
Nick is a great appointment. When Steve Jobs spoke about leadership he said “be a yardstick of quality”. That’s exactly what Nick does.
It doesn’t matter if it’s ruckwork, warm-ups or shopping for a wedding ring, he is just quality at everything he does all the time. He leads by example through his quality actions so we all know the club is in good hands, especially with young gun Jason Want waiting in the wings too.
Our club has some big challenges in this competition but from a leadership perspective the future looks bright.
I’ll be there supporting Nick throughout the season, trying to get my body right and hopefully seeing the Lions climb the ladder.