Who Will Become Port Adelaide’s Next AFL Captain? Connor Rozee Favourite To Succeed Tom Jonas As Skipper

Seven different players have led Port Adelaide in the AFL, and now they need a new captain. Tom Rockliff, a former midfielder with the Power, recently provided some insight into the top contenders.

Port Adelaide is searching for ways to improve upon making it to the semi-finals, and the club is also looking for its next AFL captain at the same time.

Tom Jonas entered the season with the expectation that he would continue playing into the year 2024; however, he only played in six games for the SANFL before calling it quits last month.

For the previous five years, Jonas had served as skipper, and in 2019, Ollie Wines will share those responsibilities.

After serving in the role of acting captain for a significant portion of the previous season, Wines is now among the candidates to permanently assume the role.

There is a "generational reset" happening at the Power, and Connor Rozee is emerging as the frontrunner to wear No. 1.

In January, Rozee will turn 23, Wines will turn 29, and the ages of the other candidates, Zak Butters, Dan Houston, and Darcy Byrne-Jones, will be 22, 26, and 28.

Tom Rockliff, a former Port midfielder, thinks Rozee will beat over Butters for the starting job.

Rockliff told this masthead, "I think they'd both do an outstanding job." However, he acknowledged that "certain people within the club would lean that" direction.

"Just based on some of the noise that's been surrounding it and comments, I have a feeling that they'll hop on the back of someone younger."

Rockliff, who played 54 games for the Power from 2018-21, stated that regardless of the path Port chose to take, the organization ought to increase the size of its leadership group from three to either five or six members.

"You can get a few different ideas in the room," he said. "I think that's a good thing."

When you zero attention on one aspect of a group, it's possible that you won't notice anything else going on there.

Rockliff was not under the impression that the negative reaction from fans to the Power having co-captains in 2019 would dissuade them from trying something similar in the future.

However, he anticipated that there would be just one skipper.

Here are the contenders:

Connor Rozee

After a second outstanding season in a row, during which he and his close friend Butters have become the faces of the club, Rozee appears to be the favorite to take on the job after becoming the faces of the team.

In addition to being named All-Australians, they finished in first and second place in the best-and-fairest competition.

Rozee's rise to the position of "face of the club" began well before the first round of competition.

During the beginning of the Power's new season in February, his picture was the only one of a currently active player to be shown with the likenesses of club luminaries such as Bob McLean, Fos Williams, John Cahill, Russell Ebert, and Gavin Wanganeen.

Not the team's captain Jonas, the man who won the Brownlow Medal, Wines, or Charlie Dixon, who was the most recognizable player on the squad.

However, Rozee, who was 22 years old and the reigning club champion at the time, had just finished his first All-Australian season and was coming off of his most successful year ever.

During the month of February, Rozee mentioned to this masthead that one of his goals was to eventually captain the Power.

Both in meetings and at training, Port has been putting pressure on him and Butters to perform at a higher level.

The two players also participated in a preseason camp with the Power's leadership group in order to introduce the seven new players to the team.

Rockliff stated that it seemed as though Port had been preparing Rozee to take over as captain.

"They're all marketable, but I think Connor, just the way he moves and plays, he's the one who springs to mind," he added.

He is a native of South Australia and epitomizes all that is admirable about the Port Adelaide Football Club.

If Rozee is selected, it will be a clean slate, similar to when 24-year-old Travis Boak was given the Power's No. 1 guernsey in 2013.

Rockliff had faith that Rozee could successfully manage the added pressure.

"Connor is one of the more mature guys for a 22 or 23-year-old, you'd think he was 27 or 28, and he's always been that way," he explained.

There are still people like Travis Boak and Ollie who care about you.

In my opinion, the duties of a captain in the year 2023 are not as demanding as they were in the year 2000.

As one commentator put it, "It's more professional, there's more coaching, and there are more coaches around."

Ollie Wines

The comments made by Power football chief Chris Davies at the end of the previous month gave the impression that Wines would be ignored.

During a post-season press conference held at Alberton, Davies stated, "We need to think about what's setting individuals and the team up for success down the track."

"Ollie's promotion to captain is not a done deal by any means.

This in no way changes the fact that I believe he is an exceptional leader and very possibly the best one.

This year, we have witnessed a generational reset in our club, which is something that has organically occurred and which we need to capitalize on.

Last month, Wines became 29 years old.

The fact that he finished 10th in the club's best-and-fairest standings despite describing 2023 as "probably the worst personal season I've ever had at AFL level" is evidence that he had incredibly high standards for himself.

Port has denied rumors of a deal to Victoria and has him scheduled to play at Alberton in the upcoming season.

According to Rockliff, Wines is still a formidable captain prospect.

And yet, "he still ticks all the boxes for a captain," he remarked.

He has already served in this capacity before, both as a co-captain and on his own when TJ (Jonas) has been absent.

Aside from what you see on the field, he sets the standards, and he's done everything properly.

I know he's been hurt over the past few years, but he's still got at least three, and probably four, good years remaining in him.

"So if he wants to do it and the group thinks he's the best person to do it, that he can't be captain again."

Last month, Wines assured this masthead that, should he be passed over for the role of captain, he would not take it personally.

"It's nothing I'd take personally," the 2021 Brownlow Medalist stated.

Zak Butters

If Butters were to be named captain of the Port, it would be similar to when Taylor Walker was picked to lead the Crows.

Walker's rough and tumble personality made him an unexpected choice for captain by new West Lakes coach Phil Walsh in the lead-up to the 2015 season.

There were more deserving people who didn't get the nod, such Patrick Dangerfield and Rory Sloane.

Walsh loved Walker because he prioritized the team's success above his own, always performed at a high level, had a major impact on his fellow players, and was an intense competitor with a great drive to win.

That reminds me quite a bit of Butters.

The club champion for the Power in 2023 is a cocky individual who frequently makes jokes about his lack of academic prowess, but he is extremely enthusiastic and determined to assist his side in winning a premiership.

He was referred to by Rockliff as the "Energizer bunny" of the group.

"If you try to rein him in a little bit and not have that buzz and larrikin nature, you can become someone you aren't," he added. "If you try to curb him a little bit."

When I was named captain of Brisbane, I had a hard time shaking my reputation as a bit of a rogue.

It's not that Zak would suddenly lose those qualities if he were promoted to captain, but sometimes promotion does have that effect.

Connor is more level, less passionate than Zak, but Butters really wears his heart on his sleeve, and you can feel his emotions throughout a game," Rockliff said of the Power's first-round picks in 2018.

"Connor doesn't possess that buzz, energy, and larrikinness that Zak does, so I think it works out really well that they complement each other."

When asked about the captaincy this week, Butters responded that he had not given the matter much thought and that he would defer the decision to the higher-ups in the club's hierarchy.

Dan Houston

All-Australian selection and a third-place finish in this year's John Cahill Medal voting, behind only Rozee and Butters, have helped elevate Houston's profile within the squad in recent years.

Houston, at age 26, acts as a link between the more seasoned players and the rookies.

However, his chances of becoming captain seem slimmer.

Rockliff stated the halfback flanker was respected and honest throughout the organization.

From a long-term perspective, "he's probably been their most consistent player over a four or five-year period," Rockliff remarked.

He has a keen eye for the game and will speak up if he thinks a ruling should be questioned.

I'm not sure if the captain even wants to do it.

I can picture him as a future leader.

Darcy Byrne-Jones

For the past three years, Byrne-Jones has been an integral part of the Power's executive team.

He was promoted because of his outstanding performance in 2020, when he was nominated All-Australian and earned the club champion trophy.

After a slow start to the season, his play improved and he finished the year in ninth position in the best and fairest after switching from a defensive to an offensive mindset.

Rockliff disqualified Byrne-Jones, who is only 28, from being chosen.

If you're looking for someone between the ages of 28 and 29, he recommends Ollie over Darcy.