St Kilda Coach Alan Richardson has described newly appointed captain, Jarryn Geary, as a ‘complete’ leader who strikes the right balance between challenging his teammates and caring for them as people away from football.
The Saints unveiled their 2017 leadership group on Tuesday night, with Geary taking over the responsibility from the clubs longest serving skipper, Nick Riewoldt, while Seb Ross, Josh Bruce and Dylan Roberton join the group for the first time.
“He’s a real competitor on the field; he’s a person that has enormous respect from all his teammates given the way that he plays; he’s a very selfless player, a selfless person and he’s incredibly committed off the footy field,” Richardson told SEN on Wednesday morning.
“He’s also quite a challenging person, he expects a lot of himself and expects similar of his teammates but he’s got some real balance there.
"He’s also got a lot of care, he’s often got blokes around at his home for dinner. He really is a drive of our trademark and our standards. He’s fairly complete in many ways."
After beginning his journey in the AFL on the rookie list at the end of 2006, the Bendigo product has risen through the ranks to join a small group of former rookies to captain an AFL side.
Richardson believes Geary’s phenomenal work rate and desire to be the best player he can possibly be has set an exceptional example for everyone else to follow at Linen House Centre.
“He started as a rookie – there’s been a few captains that have done it that way,” he said.
“You know the message that permeates through the group when someone works that hard and ends up with a terrific career? That has real influence and sets a great example; that’s the sort of bloke we’re talking about.”
Geary becomes the third player from the draft class of 2006 to captain a club, joining his former Bendigo Pioneers teammate Joel Selwood, Port Adelaide skipper Travis Boak and former Hawthorn father-son recruit turned Sydney captain Josh Kennedy.
On a day where St Kilda celebrated their new skipper and the beginning of a new era, Richardson recalled a light-hearted quip Geary has shared about his time in the TAC Cup alongside Selwood.
“One quick story I heard him tell, in the year he got drafted he came through with Joel Selwood and beat Joel Selwood in the best and fairest at the Bendigo Pioneers by a couple of votes,” he said.
“Everyone sort of looks at him with a bit of bemusement on his face and then he not so loudly reminds people that he played 20 games and Joel played five.”
