In his 14th season Daniel Merrett will join fellow Vice-Captains Dayne Beams, Dayne Zorko, Pearce Hanley and Daniel Rich in an expanded 2016 leadership group under second-year captain Tom Rockliff.
Merrett, who at 31 is the Lions' oldest player, was a member of the Club’s leadership group from 2009-2014 before leaving that role to mentor the Club's backline last year.
“I had a bit of a break and I just thought and the team thought as well that I’m the oldest in this group so I’ve got a little bit of knowledge,” Merrett told LionsTV.
“Being able to use that from a players’ point of view and help this group forward I thought it was appropriate that I come back into the leadership group and help drive those standards.”
A key defender, Merrett, is set to play his 200th game in 2016 and will be relied on for leadership as the junior players continue to mature.
“I’ve got a pretty big role down there and I love it. Being able to get this young backline up and running. We were under the pump a little bit last year. We’ve got to bounce back from a pretty disappointing year.
“It’s about mentoring, helping them through, using my experience down there and trying to be another coach out on the field for them.
“You’ve got to trust your judgement. Everyone leads in a different way and everyone has different opinions as well – it’s about being able to respect that.”
Merrett said having the Lions’ top draft pick Josh Schache stay with his family had been an enjoyable experience.
“He’s going really well. Josh’s pretty quiet, I think his nickname in the AIS Academy was Humphrey because he didn’t say much,” Merrett laughed.
“I’m really happy that Josh came and stayed with us. It’s always hard moving away from home.
“I don’t drink milk and I don’t have bread either. It was a bit of a change up for Schache to try and get use to not having milk and other things but he’s adapted pretty well.
“He came with a bit of puppy fat when he first rocked up but he looks like he’s leaned up a lot. I’m not saying it’s our cooking but he’s obviously working very hard on the track.
“He’s changing his body shape already. It’s just interesting to watch the process happen from home.”
