Tom Rockliff has been named as the new Captain of the Brisbane Lions Football Club.
Rockliff, 24, was announced as Captain today by Senior Coach Justin Leppitsch, after a selection process involving players, coaches, physical performance staff and the Club executive.
His elevation to the captaincy was ratified by the Club’s Board last night and the playing group were informed this morning.
Daniel Rich, Pearce Hanley and Dayne Zorko were also named as Vice-Captains.
Rockliff, a 2014 All Australian and two-time Lions Club Champion (in 2011 and 2014), will be just the fourth player to hold sole captaincy of the Brisbane Lions, after Michael Voss, Jonathan Brown and Jed Adcock.
Adcock, Captain in 2014 after being Co-Captain with Brown in 2013, will step into a mentoring role for the leadership group, similar to the role played last year by Brown.
Rockliff, who showed his commitment to the Lions by signing a three-year deal at the start of last season, said taking on the captaincy after 101 games for the Club was an incredible honour and privilege.
“To be chosen to lead a Club with such a proud history and with such a great bunch of talented young players is simply awesome,” said Rockliff.
“The Lions have shown an enormous amount of faith in me over the years and I want to continue to repay that by leading this group to success.
“We have something special building here, you can feel it - on the field and off it. We all know the work that needs to be done and we are on that journey together.”
Rockliff had a breakout year in 2014, being named as the Club’s first All Australian selection since 2009 as he averaged a league-high 32.7 disposals and 9.1 tackles a game, while recoding 40 or more disposals five times.
He won his second Merrett-Murray Medal as the Club’s best and fairest, as well as the Players’ Player Award, Members’ Player of the Year, and the Shaun Hart Most Competitive Player Award.
Leppitsch said Rockliff had earned his elevation to the captaincy through his commitment to constantly improving his own performance, his commitment to the on-field contest, and his commitment to his fellow players.
“One thing with Tom, you know what you are going to get. He loves this Club and he is passionate about what we are trying to do here,” said Leppitsch.
“You have seen his development as a player and as a person over recent years and he is more than ready to take on this responsibility of leading this group.”
Rockliff named Captain
Tom Rockliff will replace Jed Adcock as the Lions' skipper in 2015