Real Leaders DO without any need for formal positions or titles as in J Brown at Brisbane ,seen as THE natural captain even though five have the title.
Richmond has a problem because their leaders are appointed rather than being standout people and naturally ascending to the position, eg someone who tells players they are being delisted before they have been told, tosses the coin then kicks the wrong way with the first kick, etc etc This aint thoughtful constructive leadership to me, and the sad part is there isnt anyone with the force of personality and fitness demanding to take the role over.
We may need to give it to Riewoldt next year like Gibbs and Murphy were mooted preseason by the lunatic fringe at Carlton. At least he seems like a natural.
Hopefully he can make the grade as a player, stay fit and grow into the role
Regardless of what happens to Riewoldt it is good that our recruiters are looking for people with character and natural leadership for the club. We need these people desparately.
There are lots of outstandingly good blokes such as Johynson, Richo, J Bowden at the club and they provide a good ethical and moral base but we need someone that has an extra spark to lead us out of the trenches, up the cliffs under enemy fire, and to take the high ground and then to hold that position.
No-one else comes readily to mind at present, and teaching someone how to talk about management lingo or any other yankee spiel will only make things worse. We might be able to convince ourselves that leaders can be cultivated and will mature over time and paper over the cracks again.
Who are the outstanding leaders of afl football over the last 20 years and what were their characteristics.
Matthews, Kernahan, Worsefold, Maguire, Sheedy, Voss, Elliot, and who at the tigers has those characteristics. Most people knew clearly what the aim of these people was and what they would do to achieve sucess, and what you had to do to stand next to them, and go along with them
