He doesn’t strut around with his chest out like superstar forward Wayne Carey did in the 1990s, but according to club legend Wayne Schwass, North Melbourne’s struggles in tight games aren’t the captain’s fault.
North skipper Andrew Swallow’s personality doesn’t lend itself to the type of body language that two-time AFL premiership captain Carey displayed, regularly running rings around opponents then taunting them.
Schwass, a premiership player under Carey in 1996, says the Kangaroos’ push for a top-eight spot in 2014 will depend largely on fixing the errors of last year.
North lost a league record 10 games by 16 points or less.
Schwass is urging North’s emerging group of players to share the leadership load.
Geelong’s 2007, `09 and `11 premierships and Hawthorn’s 2013 side are examples of how on-field leadership comes from a variety of players at key moments.
“I don’t see it as a negative that Andrew’s a bit reserved and lets his actions do the talking,” former North vice-captain Schwass told AAP.
“You look at the Geelong example.
“Have a look at all the successful teams and they have a number of really imposing, strong-minded individuals who can read a game really well and have enough confidence that they don’t have to rely on the captain.
“You look at Geelong in the last seven years, Matthew Scarlett didn’t say a lot but he was a great leader.
“Joel Corey. Corey Enright. Stevie Johnson. Great leaders.
“They supported the captain but they had the confidence and maturity in their own game to understand that when the team needed a lift, they assumed that responsibility themselves.
“Perhaps that’s the area where the Kangaroos fell down a bit last year.
“Beyond Andrew Swallow, Drew Petrie, Daniel Wells, Brent Harvey, Jack Ziebell and perhaps Ben Cunnington and Scott Thompson, if those guys weren’t influencing the game when the team was under a lot of pressure, perhaps that’s where North fell away.
“Ryan Bastinac, Kieran Harper, Ben Cunnington, the next generation, they need these players to grow in confidence and naturally assume the responsibility.”
Onballer Swallow will miss North’s first-round clash with Essendon on March 21 with an achilles injury.
Schwass says Petrie, 31, and Ziebell, 23, are equally deserving of the skipper’s role. But the improvement must come from those underneath.
Geelong host North in a practice game at Simonds Stadium on Friday night.