JOBE WATSON will captain Essendon in 2010.

The 24-year-old was revealed as the new skipper when he led the squad
on to the Windy Hill turf for their training session on Monday morning.


He follows in the footsteps of his father, Tim, who captained Essendon from 1989 to 1991.

Watson succeeds former skipper Matthew Lloyd, who retired at the end of the 2009 season.

Tough defender Andrew Welsh has been named Essendon's new vice-captain.

Watson, a hard-nosed midfielder, has long been considered leadership
material at Windy Hill but he underlined his credentials with a
career-best season in 2009.

He racked up 543 disposals and amassed 10 Brownlow votes on his way to
claiming his first Crichton Medal as Essendon’s best and fairest
player.

Watson produced his finest performance as Essendon ended St Kilda’s unbeaten run in a two-point thriller in round 18.

With 37 disposals and a goal, he was a clear best-on-ground as the Bombers held on for a thrilling victory.

Essendon's general manager of football operations, Paul Hamilton, was
confident that Watson was the right choice to lead the new generation
of Bombers.

"He is a quality person and is a player that has had to work hard to achieve what he has in the game," Hamilton said.

"He leads by example on and off the field. He has an appetite and
desire for success and wants to bring people along with him on the
journey. Jobe has an outstanding leadership group behind him and I am
confident that, as a group, they will unite the club and provide strong
direction."

Hamilton said the decision was made at the club's community camp in
Coffs Harbour after a two-hour meeting that included the six-man
leadership group, coach Matthew Knights and former skipper Gary
O'Donnell.

The
committee then left the final decision to the leadership group who came
up with who they thought was the right captain and vice-captain to lead
this exciting young playing group into a new successful era.

"It was a rigorous process and one that showed the depth of leadership we have at the club," Hamilton said.

"The leadership group walked out of the meeting united that, together,
they will strive to improve the team and club. There was a really
strong understanding that leadership is not about one person but is
about having a group of leaders.

"We want to empower the playing group to really lead and take control
of the big decisions that need to be made so this was an important
process for Essendon to go through."

Watson joined the Bombers under the father-son rule in the 2002 NAB AFL
Draft and he has played 94 games in seven seasons at Windy Hill.

More to come.

http://www.afl.com.au/news/newsarticle/tabid/208/newsid/88335/default.aspx

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Congrats to Jobe, great player and I'm sure he'll be a good captain

Thoughts?

Yeah good on him. I'm sure he'll do a great job. Hopefully he has a another terrific season.

He has certainly come a long way. He used to be a bit of a joke of a footballer, slow and shocking skills to match, but his last few years have been great.

He should be a great leader for now and into the future for the young bombers team.

yeah i didnt expect that but a gr8 choice well done for him.

He has been the favourite for a while after Matthew Lloyd retired, no real surprise here but congrats to him.

Doesn't surprise me, love him as a player, and will make a fantastic leader. I'm sure he won't disappoint.

McVeigh could have got the reins but his off feild behaviour was probably not up to scratch.

all the best to the young chap

i think that David Hille would be an ideal leader, Jobe Watson was never not going to be the Captain, i geuss it was just meant to be, i think he'll do a pretty well, what i was surprised that Hille wasnt Vice, Andrew Welsh was.

a double negative? really?

Jobe Watson has just signed a new deal with the
Bombers until the end of 2013.