DANDENONG Stingrays have appointed childhood friends Jason Pongracic and Nick Tuddenham as co-captains for the TAC Cup season.
Stingrays coach Graham Yeats confirmed the pair had been chosen from their leadership group, which includes prospective top-10 draft pick Lachie Whitfield and highly rated leader Billy Rolfe.
Yeats said a number of factors were considered, including the opinion of the players, communication and professionalism.
He said this approach had worked with the appointment of past captains such as Matt Buntine, Mitch Hallahan, Luke Parker and Alex Benbow.
“It’s reasonably tough to pick the captains, but we normally think we get it right over time,” Yeats said.
“I think Jason is a natural and Tuddy was really in the mix – we thought we had four or five that were bona fide captains.”
Player opinions were canvassed at the Stingrays’ preseason trip to Camp Manyung, with both captains excelling as leaders of their respective groups.
“The way they managed their group on the camp was taken into consideration and we give those strong leaders the responsibility to manage a group and interact with their teammates,” Yeats said.
Pongracic said he had set himself to become a leader at the Stingrays over the preseason. Tuddenham said his appointment came as a shock.
“It’s obviously a great honour and not something that I was expecting,” said Tuddenham, who is from Langwarrin. To be doing it with Jason is also great. He is a great player and we’ve known each other for a long time.”
Pongracic, who lives in Koo Wee Rup, is a member of the Australian Institute of Sport squad and is regarded as a potential first-round draft pick.
“It is something that I had set myself for over the preseason to try and be a leader,” he said.
The Stingrays play their opening match of the season against Gippsland Power at Morwell Football Ground on Saturday.
Yeats said the Stingrays will have a different look from previous seasons. “We have a lot of 188 centimetre type players, which is a good size and prototype for the AFL.
“We think we’ll be a slightly different animal in that we won’t have a really strong spine. We’ll be a strong running, ball-retention type team and we think that’s where our strength lies.”
