He once took a risk on a young Canberra kid named James Hird, now AFL coach Kevin Sheedy has invested his faith in another capital product, Phil Davis.
Despite playing only 18 AFL matches, Davis was yesterday appointed as one of three foundation captains for the Greater Western Sydney Giants, along with Luke Power and Callan Ward.
Davis becomes the least experienced skipper at the top level of Australian football in almost 80 years, since AFL Hall of Famer Haydn Bunton was appointed captain of Fitzroy in 1932.
Sheedy said the appointments reflected the best balance for the Giants leadership now and into the future, but he admitted an element of risk in elevating 21-year-old Davis so soon in his career.
''The day you stop taking risks, get out of the ballpark,'' Sheedy responded. ''The last captain I had at Essendon was another guy out of Canberra and he was a pretty good choice. Some fella called Hird, he wasn't much older I can tell you.''
Hird was 25, a premiership winner and a Brownlow medallist by the time Sheedy appointed him as captain of Essendon in 1998.
But that's not to say Sheedy hadn't taken his risks on Hird.
The Bombers voted to delist an injury-prone Hird after his rookie season in 1991, but it was Sheedy who convinced the club to keep faith.
Sheedy said the leadership set-up at the Giants, supported by veterans such as former Melbourne Demons captain James McDonald, would give Davis and Ward, also 21, every chance to succeed.
''Obviously the two young guys are in their development years as leaders and they'll need good people around them,'' Sheedy said.
''[Davis] has taken a risk too. I like it when a person is prepared to take a risk at such a young age to come here and build a club.''
Davis, who began playing Australian football at Canberra's Marist College, admits he was shocked to receive the captaincy call from Sheedy.
''It's definitely going to be a challenge, I'm not going to lie about that, I'm quite inexperienced,'' Davis said. ''You're never ready but it's a great time to learn.''
''I knew leadership was going to be on the cards with the demographic of the group, we've got a lot of young players, but I never thought I'd be captain.''
Davis remembers being at Manuka Oval in 1998 the day Kangaroos forward Winston Abraham took a hanging mark over Port Adelaide, the mark of the year.
''Growing up in Canberra and to now lead a Canberra team is going to be fantastic, I was in Canberra for 14 years of my life and I've still got lots of family there so leading a football team there is going to be hugely exciting and a great honour. It's hard to explain how privileged I feel.''
Although he baulks at any comparisons, Davis admitted he had discussed Hird's leadership with Sheedy. ''I have asked him a couple of times about James Hird as a leader,'' Davis said. ''He's one of the all-time greats, so if I could be half as good as him life would be nice.''
''It's going to be a challenge, we're young and we're up against some very good football sides. We all know we're not going to win 22 games this year, so we'll have some challenges as you saw with the Gold Coast but we'll be continuing to try and improve and become a formidable side in the future.''
.gif)
