Freshly appointed Hawthorn co-captain Jai Newcombe has revealed he was not expecting to receive the call-up to lead the Hawks alongside James Sicily this season, but is confident he will thrive in the increased leadership role.
Hawthorn's announcement on Thursday officially made Newcombe the first player taken from the Mid-Season Draft to be named as an AFL captain, a historical achievement that the 24-year-old said he had never considered.
“When I was asked and when it was posed to me that [being named co-captain] might be something that may happen this year, I was sort of taken aback a bit,” Newcombe told SEN on Friday.
“In terms of my personal leadership journey, it wasn't necessarily something that I was chasing and had marked that I wanted to really tick off as a player.
“I'm more than comfortable within myself, my game and my leadership skills, and to take on the role and join Sicily leading the club, but it was definitely surprising early days."
Newcombe's increased influence at the club could see him firmly establish himself as one of the game's better midfield bulls, highlighting his priorities as the face of the brown-and-gold moving forward.
“My style around the club is definitely very action first. I'll lead the way with my actions and how I go about it and make it really easy for others to follow," Newcombe said.
“I want to show what we accept around this place. But in general, I think I'm someone that's very easy to follow through my actions.
“I wouldn't say I put a foot wrong very often, so I'm very consistent in the way I go about things.”
Newcombe, affectionately called "Mr September" by the Hawks faithful, could shape Hawthorn's top eight chances too, given the recent significant shoulder injury to Will Day and the departure of the influential James Worpel.
However, he knows all of the weight won't fall on his shoulders, buying into the exciting development of young guns Josh Ward and Connor Macdonald, who have featured increasingly across the midfield during pre-season match sims.
"Obviously there was excitement around it, the possibility [of trading for Merrett], but there hasn't been a great deal of chatter about the disappointment about him not being here," Newcombe said.
"There's a lot of confidence within the squad that we do have, and we've got guys stepping up to become quality midfielders for this club in the future.
"The likes of Josh Ward, who is taking great steps in both his playing and leadership aspirations... Connor Macdonald has been floating through the midfield at our pre-season training and doing a great job.
"There's enough talent within our squad to fill the void of Day not being here. We look forward to getting him in the second half of the season and priming ourselves for the back end of the year."
Newcombe and the Hawks begin their 2026 pre-season schedule with a match simulation hit out against long-time rivals Geelong on Monday, February 16, at the Kennedy Community Centre.
