Young gun shoots down 'very unfair' captaincy calls
Young North Melbourne star Harry Sheezel has shut down “very unfair” suggestions he should take over as captain of his struggling club next season.
Sheezel responded to a proposal from St Kilda great Nick Riewoldtwho called for the floundering Kangaroos to make the call and elevate the 20-year-old to captain in 2025.
Playing in just his second season after he was taken by the Kangaroos with pick No.3 in the 2022 national draft, Sheezel has already collected his first major award, taking home the 2023 Rising Star.
On top of that, he was also crowned North Melbourne’s 2023 best and fairest.
Reiwoldt declared Sheezel would be ready next season to take hold of the “reins” if he meets the standards set by a true leader.
Sheezel has thrown his support behind captains Simpkin and McDonald.
“I’m gonna say ‘real talk’ with a caveat. And that’s, you know, how does he model the behaviours [needed of a leader] behind closed doors?,” Riewoldt asked on LiSTNR’s Footy Talk podcast.
“There’s a lot more to it than just making your best player captain — they’ve got to be a leader in the way they command the group, they’ve got to be a leader in the way they prepare Monday to Friday.
“Assuming he ticks those boxes, then I don’t have a problem with making a 20-year-old captain.”
“Put him in there, give him the reins.”
Despite the high praise from the Saints superstar, who was also giving the captaincy of his club when he was just 21 years old, Sheezel backed his current captains when asked about the suggestion.
North Melbourne are currently led by co-captains Luke McDonald and Jy Simpkin, who have admittedly been struggling on field.
“Look, I don’t think that’s really fair on Luke and Jy,” Sheezel said on SEN radio.
The Kangaroos are also 0-7 to start their season.
“I think they’re the first to admit their on-field performance at the moment isn’t up to the standard of a captain,” Sheezel said.
“But behind the scenes, they are unbelievable leaders and they have done an incredible job for our group as leaders, inspiring us and working so hard to find ways to keep that belief in us to turn this around.
“They challenge standards, and they are, I think, unbelievable leaders and they’re still growing as well.”
Sheezel, who is still only 19 years old and in just his second season at the elite level, dubbed the claims “unfair”, declaring he is still “learning” from his captains.
“But I think that’s very unfair on them to suggest that I should be the captain of the club at 19 years old when I’m just learning from them,” he said.
“They’re mentors for me. So, I don’t really buy into that at all, and I fully support Luke and Jy.
“I think they’re definitely the right people for the job.”
North Melbourne will continue searching for their first win of the season, taking on St Kilda on Saturday afternoon.