There isn't going to be one

RS has said there will not be an official captain it will basically be on a game by game basis!

I love that our coach is thinking outside the box and bringing new ideas to the game, Im not sure they will all work but it sure beats being boring!

Ridiculous decision if so. Not a fan at all of this……

It's basically how Smith has run the captaincy since he joined as Leeming was injured for a chunk of it.

Why's that a ridiculous decision? Captain is largely a token coin tossing job in RL. Leadership should come through a group of senior players with the younger end also having a voice. Do try and resist the urge to go full "Corporal Jones" before a competitive ball has even been kicked.

yep. ridiculous for the likes of sinfield, Farrell etc to captain their clubs for years.
selfish and stupid

This sounds almost as good as the passive defensive line strategy, where we move up in almost slow motion so there’s no gaps



The man’s so innovative.

Sinfield and Farrell were very very rare talents.

Preseason defeat to hkr and a few are getting all twitchy. Smith has been transformative since he's arrived and the club will only progress with him in charge.

couldn't care less about pre season results, and I have 100% faith in smith, but rotating captains is stupid imo

We did it last year as smith aludes to in his article

I don't think that's the idea, more that they have to name someone on match day for the formalities and if they name the same person every week for the basic duties it goes away from what he's doing. It's not like Smith will say one match "right lads listen to Leeming this week" and the next listen to myler etc...

All our success came from having a calming, quality leader. Giving someone like Smith captaincy would also elevate their game++
Agree this is a baffling decision……

Agree. Baffling. It all seems a bit all over the place at the moment imo. Makes you wonder if he doesn’t think any one of them are particularly great choices

Coming across that way……

Comes accross as the complete opposite to me, a galvanising move to spread responsibility across the team by having a leadership group. And far from being a bit all over, it seems Smith has more of a sense of direction than we've had in years. I suspect some peoples misgivings are coming off a few friendlies.

Or did I just dream that Smith dragged us from near the bottom of the table to the GF last year?!?

Our success came from having a large group of extremely talented players. Sinfield did a great job, but don't tell me the likes of Peacock, McGuire, Ellis, Burrow etc didn’t have tonnes of input. Whilst Captaincy might elevate some, it can also crush others. As others have pointed out, we did not have a regular Captain when we made our run to the GF last year.

Thats how i see it also.

I'd hazard a guess that if he had a Sinfield in the squad - an obvious leader who plays 80 minutes every week - he'd be captain. Leeming doesn't play 80 minutes and may not be first choice to start games. Our halfbacks are candidates but injury prone. That probably leaves Myler and Martin if you were going for one player.

Of course they had a huge input. But they still needed the calm head and looked to Sinny when the team was in need of inspiration, or losing its head. Last season was a great turnaround, but we are a different team now, with different aspirations…..we’re allowed to question things. I won’t be judging much until we’ve played first 6 games.

Leadership groups aren’t uncommon. I’d say out of the current crop only really Martin strikes me as a single captain like type.

Comparisons to Kev and that group should be avoided on two fronts. Kev was obviously one of a kind and even he was surrounded by other leaders.

In some ways it has echoes of Brian McD, expecting the players to take more responsibility for themselves.

I agree that you want as many leaders as possible. However, where I think not having a captain can become a problem is when you are up against it or in tight games and need one voice to call the shots rather than 4 or 5 having a debate and contradicting each other.

I go back to the comment about us having multiple leaders when Sinny was captain. JP came into the club as the international captain, and when the team were under the sticks and needed a lift in intensity, it was usually JP doing the talking. Add into that group Keith, Mags, Rob, Disko, Buderus, Ellis...there was a leadership group and I doubt they were competing to speak. They spend every day together. You'd expect that they have it worked out the right time to speak. Maybe that's what Smith is aiming for. Under Agar it was often the opposite with it looking like there wasn't anyone stepping up to lead the team.

Shabs saying that our expectations have changed since last year. Why is that? Its because Rohan has come in and done things his way. That for me is good enough to accept his ways, even if they are unusual. He seems like the sort of coach to do his talking behind the scenes and to his players. Not in the media to placate people. He's earned the right to tear up the book and mix it up.

The game has stagnated for too long, we should welcome innovators.

I don’t think a calm head captain is always what you need. If you manage a large group of people you know that some need a big presence who talks and really leads them via actions. Others need a calm, measured approach and some need an arm round the shoulder. Sinfield was a fantastic captain and leader but he was reliant upon the rest of his leaders, senior players to do things as well. JP being the obvious one, he would literally run into a brick wall to get to the other side, that was his character and style.

I think the reason he has done his is to say to the players (a number who are young) that is a collective group. We all lead, we all need to look inwards and improve ourselves. Yes certain players will step up more than others and that is natural. People do not follow captains, they follow leaders. Leaders aren’t appointed they just are.

your captain is always a leader. always has, always will be.
no matter the arguments for, I still think its stupid.
imo of course