Swan Sees Rocca As Interim Skipper
The Sunday Age
Sunday October 5, 2008
DANE Swan, voted Collingwood's best-and-fairest player this year, has named young Pies Scott Pendlebury and Travis Cloke and veterans Anthony Rocca and Shane O'Bree as potential captaincy candidates in what is widely considered a two-horse race between Josh Fraser and Nick Maxwell.
Speaking after he won the Copeland Trophy, Swan said that given there was no standout to replace the recently retired Scott Burns, who took over from long-term skipper Nathan Buckley for just a season, appointing another veteran as an interim leader might prove the best solution."Why can't Anthony Rocca have it for a year or two and then hand it on to Scott Pendlebury in two years' time when he's become an elite midfielder?" Swan said."Or Shane O'Bree, who not a lot of people give a lot of credit to but he's unbelievable behind the scenes with us? People might think there's not a lot of people who can captain us, but there is."Collingwood plans to use the summer to assess the situation before appointing a new player figurehead before next season.Swan said it was time he put himself up as a prospective leader. "I think it's time I stopped just being insular and ... stepped out of my comfort zone." -- SAMANTHA LANE
© 2008 The Sunday Age
