Subiaco announces leaders for 2022

Subiaco Football Club has finalised its leadership group for season 2022, with six players selected to represent the club.

The nomination process for the team’s leaders was the same as last season, where a pool of players were voted on after those who wished to be considered nominated for the role.

Leigh Kitchin will captain the side for a fourth consecutive year, a role he said was an honour to take on for another season.

“Four years has gone pretty quick, but I’m very proud to have the confidence of my peers, the coaches, and the board to lead the club again from a players’ perspective,” he said.

“I’m looking forward to it.”

Jordan Lockyer will be Kitchin’s second in command, after a number of years as one of the Lions’ leaders.

He said it was a privilege to be voted as vice-captain, but was certain his role as a leader wouldn’t change.

“We’ve had a strong leadership group for a while now, it’s a tremendous honour to be part of it again,” he said.

“Kitch has been a terrific captain for the last few years, so I’ll be following his lead and will work with the group around us.”

Also in the leadership team is Angus Dewar who continues his role from last season, while three new additions in Chad Harris, Harry Marsh, and Ben Sokol round out the group.

Kitchin said he’s comfortable in his role as skipper, and was proud of the depth of leaders in the squad.

“It was really tough to come to that final six, so I’m really confident in the group we’ve got,” he said.

“Locks and Gus are both mainstays of the group, so it’s no surprise they’re in there.”

He continued, saying the new additions to the group spoke volumes of each of their characters.

“We convinced Marshy to finally put his hand up after many years of trying to, so it’s great to have him on board,” he said.

“For Chad to be at the club for one year and to be named in the leadership group the next, it’s a credit to him and I’m really happy for him to be stepping into that role.

“Soks was lots of value for us in the leadership group back in 2020, so it’s good to have him back in again.”

Kitchin said he encouraged the leaders for this year to continue to grow, and to keep setting the high standards of the club.

In regard to the upcoming season, Lockyer said he loves playing footy for the club, and is keen to add to his success at Subiaco.

“Every year we get out there, and we try our best to win as many games as we can and hopefully win a flag at the end of the year,”

“We want to have strong leaders at the top and guys that are setting the standards.”

Kitchin agreed, saying the challenge of a new squad keeps the hunger for success alive, which made the decision to stay at the Lions an easy one.

“Having a new challenge and a new group of blokes, you certainly don’t experience any of that premiership fatigue,” he said.

“Being one of the premier teams in the competition, the challenge is winning and wanting to win premierships.

“But the thing that keeps me coming back and not really considering hanging them up is the social aspect and the challenge of being involved in a group like this.”