Warrnambool’s new captain Jason Rowan.
WARRNAMBOOL full-forward Jason Rowan says he will let his actions do the talking as the Blues’ new captain.
The 26-year-old, who has won the Hampden league’s goalkicking award for the past six seasons, takes on the Blues’ captaincy following the retirement of dual premiership skipper Dustin McCorkell after six years at the helm.
Tough midfielder Angus Chirnside will be Rowan’s deputy.
Rowan, who missed the pre-season cup competition at Port Fairy on Saturday because of an Achilles injury, said he was humbled to be given the job of leading the defending premier this season.
“When Tilty (coach Scott Carter) gave me a call and said I would be captain, I was delighted,” he said.
“It’s another stepping stone in my footy. I’ve been there since under 14s and to finally lead out the boys as captain is a real honour.”
Rowan said that while he is not naturally a chatterbox on the field, he predicted he wouldn’t be changing his successful game.
“There will be a bit more responsibility but I don’t think it will change the way I go about my footy,” he said.
“My aim is to keep the boys playing the way we have been playing. Nothing much has changed over the last five years, we’ve played in the last five grand finals. I will try not to let the captaincy overwhelm me, just go about showing a bit of leadership.
“I am not the most talkative out there but I try to lead by my actions a bit. I want to keep the boys up and happy and make sure everyone is happy.”
Rowan, who carried calf and quad injuries late last season, revealed he was lucky to even make the field for the Blues’ finals campaign after kicking 100 goals for the season in the second-last round.
“I had a 15-centimetre tear in my quad . . . I did a good job of it. I shouldn’t have been playing but I wanted to be out there going into the finals and to sew up top spot. I had to have it taped the best we could to hold it together,” he said.
After playing in the Blues’ second premiership in three seasons, he was forced to “rest and rest”.
“I used to have a hit of cricket but I had to give that away and only came back about five weeks ago. I gave it every chance to heal,” he said. He said the extended lay-off meant the quadricep had healed well.
His pre-season was derailed two weeks ago when he had injections to reduce fluid around his Achilles. But he will resume running this week and expects to be fit for the round one showdown with Koroit.