Brisbane will hope three can prove their magic number after appointing Harris Andrews, Hugh McCluggage and Josh Dunkley as co-captains for their three-peat push.
After leading the Lions with Andrews to back-to-back premierships, Lachie Neale relinquished the co-captaincy in January amid a tumultuous and public marriage breakdown.
It meant change was inevitable, though it was unclear whether Harris would be sole captain or if one or both of his vice-captains, Dunkley and McCluggage, would step up.
The Lions announced on Monday all three would share the role.
Neale doesn’t even feature in the Lions’ extended leadership group, which includes new recruit and ex-West Coast captain Oscar Allen, along with Jarrod Berry, Cam Rayner, Jaspa Fletcher and Will Ashcroft.
Coach Chris Fagan has never been huge on the concept of sharing the captaincy but didn’t want to change a winning formula.
The Brisbane Lions have announced that Harris Andrews (pictured), Josh Dunkley and Hugh McCluggage will take over from Lachie Neale as the club’s co-captains
Neale (left, with Chris Fagan) stood down as the Lions captain at the beginning of January following the a much publicised breakdown of his marriage
‘It was quite unique to have three guys that are more than capable of being great captains at your one club at the one time,’ he said in a statement.
‘If you have three good people then why not have three captains.
‘For us, leadership is a teamwork thing so to have three captains reinforces that philosophy and we work really hard to build leadership density at our footy club.
‘These three are our best trademark players, they are fine young men, they are different personalities, so they bring different strengths to the table.’
Fagan labelled Andrews ‘the thinker’, McCluggage ‘the emotional intelligence’ and Dunkley ‘the enforcer’ when praising the trio’s different leadership styles.
Andrews, one of the best defenders in the game and a three-time All-Australian, has been co-captain since 2023
Dunkley, a hard-nosed midfielder who Fagan has previously said is the player most similar to Hawthorn triple-premiership skipper Luke Hodge, has been crucial to Brisbane’s success since joining at the end of 2022.
The 29-year-old former Western Bulldogs gun was named Brisbane’s best and fairest winner in their premiership season last year.
Josh Dunkley (left) has been crucial to Brisbane’s success since joining at the end of 2022
Classy midfielder McCluggage, 27, has been vice-captain since 2023, has played 209 games and was an All-Australian last year
Classy midfielder McCluggage, 27, has been vice-captain since 2023, has played 209 games and was an All-Australian last year.
The Lions kick off their premiership defence at the Gabba against the Western Bulldogs on March 7.