Jones to lead Peel in 2015

Jones to lead Peel in 2015
Alex Paull

PEEL stalwart and reigning Tuckey Medallist Brendan Jones will embark on his second stint as club captain, one year after coming out of retirement.

Moving into the 12^th season of his career, Jones, who turns 29 in April, will assume the reins from James Flaherty, who departed the club at the end of 2014.

It promises to be a season full of milestones for Jones, who is two games shy of his 200^th WAFL game and three short of his 100^th in a Peel jumper, after 101 with Perth.

Jones was a standout candidate for the captaincy after three and a half seasons at the helm from 2010 to 2013, while he regularly led a young midfield group in 2014 on his way to a second Tuckey Medal.

Peel coach Cam Shepherd said it was clear that Jones was the best man to lead the club.

“The clear direction from the players and coaches was that Brendan Jones was the best fit as captain, but there were no thoughts of grooming someone else up, that will happen naturally,” Shepherd said.

Classy utility Eddie Dann will serve as Jones’ deputy, while boom Essendon recruit Leroy Jetta and former Carlton defender Josh Bootsma round out the leadership group as deputy vice-captains.

Resilience has been a recurring theme for the Thunder this pre-season, and Shepherd said the leadership group reflected the importance of perseverance.

“One of our key values is we’re resilient, and our leadership group individually have all been challenged and shown resilience to push through, so the experience of those guys – to show they’re resilient people – has been recognised by the coaches and the players,” he said.

“While they are inexperienced in terms of age, they have shown the maturity expected, and given we have a very young list, we expect them to continue leading the younger players going forward.”

Having spent 2013 playing community football, Dann was electric in 2014, and his versatility was rewarded when he received the Coach’s Award at the end of the year.

Jetta, who played 93 games for Bombers from 2006-2014, has impressed many onlookers with his leadership, and Shepherd said Jetta’s leadership and maturity had caught the eye of coaches and teammates.

Josh Bootsma’s elevation to the Peel leadership group has been rapid since he was delisted from Carlton in June last year, and Shepherd said the dedication shown by the young defender has been outstanding.

“Josh’s issues last year are well-documented, but he’s put his head down, trained hard, and really led the front in a very young group, so we’ve been really pleased and proud with how his pre-season has gone and he has been rewarded,” he said.

The Thunder will kick off its final preparations for the 2015 season with a scratch match against Swan Districts at Steel Blue Oval on March 7.