The Gold Coast Suns have turned to a Queanbeyan Tiger to lead their premiership charge with Hannah Dunn elevated to the club's captaincy role.
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Dunn will lead the Suns alongside co-captain Sam Virgo in their opening round clash against the West Coast Eagles at Gold Coast's Carrara Stadium on January 30.
It marks a stunning turnaround in fortunes for the 22nd pick in the 2019 AFLW draft, who was a train-on player with Greater Western Sydney in the competition's inaugural season before being delisted.
She would go on to lead Queanbeyan to AFL Canberra glory before earning a second chance at the elite level when the Sun rose on a new era for the expanded women's competition.
Dunn emerged as one of the league's premier midfielders last season and says she wants to lead by example as a Suns skipper in search of a back-to-back finals appearances.
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"It's an absolute honour to be appointed captain alongside Sam and I couldn't be prouder to represent the club, its supporters and the entire Gold Coast community," Dunn said.
"I'm looking forward to leading by example both on and off the field and helping our group however I can to deliver the success we're all striving towards."
Dunn added on Suns TV: "Seeing where we are this season compared to where we were last season, and how successful we were last season, we're going to go leaps and bounds this year.
"I'm excited for what we can produce."
Virgo will share the reins with Dunn having captained the side in their maiden campaign last year, which came to a close in the opening week of the semi-finals in a heavy loss to Fremantle.
That was as far as any side would go in 2020, with the league's head office controversially cancelling the semi-finals and grand final amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Joining Dunn and Virgo in the Suns' five-player leadership group are inaugural club champion and incumbent leader Jamie Stanton, and new faces Sarah Perkins and Jade Pregelj.
Suns head of women's football Fiona McLarty says the new-look leadership group will play an important role in moulding the program for this year and beyond.
"We want our entire playing group to be great role models and inspire the next generation of female athletes, and our leadership group will be the ones to lead the way both on and off the field," McLarty said.
"It's a great honour to nominated for the position by the club and something each member should be proud of."
Caden Helmers
Caden Helmers is a sports writer for The Canberra Times.
Caden Helmers is a sports writer for The Canberra Times.
