Former Hawthorn midfielder Daniel Harford believes Essendon made the wrong call in selecting new captain Andrew McGrath.
After Zach Merrett stood down as captain following his failed move to Hawthorn, McGrath was chosen to lead the Bombers in 2026, but Harford believes that was the wrong choice.
Speaking on the Six Points AFL Podcast, Harford named his first choice for the Bombers' captaincy position.
"If it had been me, I would have made the call myself and said, 'Sam Durham, you're our captain, you're exactly what we need'," Harford said.
"He (Durham) should be their captain, he's the guy that should be captain, he's the heart and soul and spirit, he's the competitive animal.
"At the end of last season, when Zach Merrett stood down, and you went through the list of Essendon players, and you wanted someone to build this next generation of almost old-school Essendon, but bring it into the modern era.
"Sam Durham was the one who was standing right in front of you, staring you right in the eyes and saying 'pick me, pick me'."
Mark Stevens believes that McGrath was not the right call for the next captain of the Bombers.
"I know that he's been a handy tidy player, Andy McGrath, but I'm not sure where he's at, he's totally lost," Stevens said.
"He's a number one draft pick, which is not his fault. He's not a number one pick in quality whatsoever. You don't want back pockets picked at number one, but is he the right leader at the moment, has he got enough mongrel about him?”
