\n Connor\u00a0Rozee\u00a0will lead\u00a0Port Adelaide\u2019s AFL\u00a0side as captain for the third consecutive season.\n <\/p>\n
Connor\u00a0Rozee\u00a0will lead\u00a0Port Adelaide\u2019s AFL\u00a0side as captain for the third consecutive season,\u00a0with\u00a0co-vice-captains Zak Butters and Willem Drew\u00a0to be\u00a0his right-hand men.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Twenty-five-year-old\u00a0Rozee\u00a0assumed\u00a0the captaincy following Tom Jonas\u2019 retirement at the end of the 2023 season, while Butters has spent the last two seasons as sole vice-captain.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Rozee\u2019s\u00a0two seasons in charge\u00a0have\u00a0featured a mix of on-field results, with the young skipper\u00a0impressing beyond his years with his strength of character and\u00a0ability to\u00a0maintain\u00a0composure.\u00a0<\/p>\n
In September, Butters earned\u00a0his third John Cahill Medal as the club\u2019s best and fairest male player,\u00a0demonstrating\u00a0an ongoing\u00a0commitment to\u00a0athletic performance\u00a0and team success.\u00a0<\/p>\n
With two years in the leadership group under his belt,\u00a0Drew has\u00a0continued\u00a0his growth\u00a0as a player and a person,\u00a0being\u00a0recognised\u00a0with an elevation\u00a0to vice\u00a0for the upcoming season.\u00a0<\/p>\n
2026 will be Rozee’s third AFL season in charge, ably supported by vice-captains Zak Butters and Willem Drew. Image: Matt Sampson.<\/p>\n
A\u00a0mix of youth and experience\u00a0will support the\u00a0captain\u2019s group\u00a0with Mitch Georgiades,\u00a0Aliir\u00a0Aliir, Jack\u00a0Lukosius\u00a0and Miles Bergman\u00a0all\u00a0taking on\u00a0additional\u00a0leadership responsibilities.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
A\u00a0greater emphasis\u00a0has\u00a0also\u00a0been\u00a0placed on\u00a0every player\u00a0developing their own leadership skills,\u00a0from\u00a0lifting\u00a0training standards, to\u00a0making positive\u00a0lifestyle choices.\u00a0<\/p>\n
General manager of football Ben Rutten congratulated the group on their appointments.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cConnor, Zak and Willem have earned the opportunity to lead our playing group in 2026,\u201d Rutten said.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOur chosen leaders are widely respected by our\u00a0players, coaches,\u00a0staff\u00a0and the broader Port Adelaide community.\u00a0They embody our\u00a0team and club\u00a0values,\u00a0consistently perform well on-field, and have a positive influence over those around them.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Willem Drew has been elevated to vice-captaincy for the first time, a testament to his strong leadership and embodiment of club values. Image: AFL Photos.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a young captain, Connor has shown enormous growth as a leader\u00a0and is a calm and consistent voice throughout the highs and lows of the football season.\u00a0We are\u00a0very pleased\u00a0to see him once again\u00a0assume the responsibility of the\u00a0number one\u00a0guernsey, which is one of the great traditions of our club.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cCongratulations also to our\u00a0supporting leaders \u2013\u00a0Aliir, Mitch, Jack and Miles\u00a0all\u00a0have leadership traits and\u00a0are equipped to\u00a0assist\u00a0our\u00a0captain and vice-captains\u00a0with\u00a0team\u00a0performance and culture.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u00a0also thank Sam Powell-Pepper for his service as a leader over the last two seasons. Sam\u00a0will\u00a0spend this season fully focused on his\u00a0recovery from a second\u00a0serious\u00a0knee injury,\u00a0while\u00a0preparing\u00a0to play\u00a0as much football as he can in\u00a02026.\u00a0He\u00a0will continue to be\u00a0an important role\u00a0model on and off the field for our group.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Port Adelaide will play its first pre-season clash against opposition, taking on Adelaide\u00a0on Friday, 20 February at Alberton Oval.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Connor\u00a0Rozee\u00a0will lead\u00a0Port Adelaide\u2019s AFL\u00a0side as captain for the third consecutive season. Connor\u00a0Rozee\u00a0will lead\u00a0Port Adelaide\u2019s AFL\u00a0side as captain for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":427387,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85,83],"class_list":{"0":"post-427386","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-afl","8":"tag-afl","9":"tag-au","10":"tag-australia","11":"tag-australian-football-league","12":"tag-australianfootballleague","13":"tag-sports","14":"tag-text"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=427386"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/427386\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/427387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=427386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=427386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=427386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}