 The group will share the captain's off-the-field duties and community work |
Wigan Warriors have decided that five heads are better than one after announcing they will have a "leadership team" of five captains this season. Sean O'Loughlin, captain for the past four years, is a member of the group. The other leaders will be named before the Warriors' opening game of the 2010 Super League season on 5 February. Former Huddersfield captain Chris Thorman told BBC Sport the decision was a "good idea", particularly because of O'Loughlin's recent injury problems. Loose forward O'Loughlin, 27, has been captain of the rugby league side since 2006 but has had injury problems. He missed the second half of the 2008 season with the shoulder injury and that year's World Cup with a knee problem, while he was forced to withdraw from the 2009 Four Nations with a thumb injury.  | It is not as revolutionary as it sounds, but what might be strange for the fans is that their team don't have a recognised captain Former Huddersfield captain Chris Thorman |
Warriors head coach Michael Maguire said he wanted to "share the responsibility of leading the side" and revealed he had been impressed with O'Loughlin's "receptiveness" to the idea. A decision will be made on a match-by-match basis about who from the group will lead the Warriors out on match-day, while the group will share the captain's off-the-field duties and community work. Maguire added: "The players have reacted extremely well when working in a team, therefore it made sense to create a leadership team who can continue our togetherness. "Other teams in other sports have adopted this shared responsibility in the past and it has worked fantastically well. "We aim to be at the forefront of such forward-thinking initiatives here at Wigan and, as a squad, we have embraced the idea wholeheartedly. "As a group, we all feel this is a more effective way of upholding the values and standards of the club without overstretching any one individual." Thorman, currently playing for York City Knights, told BBC Sport: "In the circumstances, it is a good idea. "I know Sean O'Loughlin has been the captain for the last four years, but Sean has been struggling with injuries during that time and has been in and out of the side, so it maybe makes sense to have a leadership group. | 'THE SHARED CAPTAINCY' RUGBY UNION: Mike Blair and Chris Cussiter are currently joint Scotland captains CRICKET: Indian Premier League side Knight Riders have experimented with shared captaincy AUSSIE RULES: Sydney Swans have successfully adopted shared leadership |
"I can understand Michael Maguire's reasoning for it and I would imagine that the four additional leaders will be experienced, will have captained sides in the past and be able to lead the side." Thorman conceded that there could be a "power struggle" within the group, but believed Maguire will have selected players he trusted could work together. "When I was captain at Huddersfield we had a vice- captain and we worked closely together," said Thorman. "We then had four players, who had good personal skills and social skills who would act as go-betweens to the other players. "It is not as revolutionary as it sounds, but what might be strange for the fans is that their team don't have a recognised captain. | 606: DEBATE |
"But, saying that, I don't think anyone could name the captain of Manchester United. "You could say it's Gary Neville, but he doesn't necessarily play in their strongest team. "Sometimes it's Ryan Giggs but he'll swap the captaincy with Rio Ferdinand so it's not totally new to British sport."
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