Ruckman Jarrod Witts believes there are exciting times ahead for the SUNS with its cohort of young leaders continuing to develop.
The former captain made the decision to step aside from official leadership roles in 2025, making way for Noah Anderson’s appointment to the captaincy for the first time in his young career, alongside several new faces in the club’s leadership group.
Anderson will be the youngest captain in the competition when the SUNS take the field for Opening Round this weekend, and Witts says it came as no surprise to him to see the 24-year-old earn the role.
“Noah’s as impressive as young players I’ve seen,” Witts said.
“The way he prepares, he’s clearly an important player to us and a consistent performer. I think his leadership’s just elevated every year he’s seen here and that’s his next natural step.
“He’s not going to have all the answers straight away, he’s going to develop into the role, but he’s well prepared and he’s got all of our support and full backing.”
Anderson signed off from pre-season preparations in style on Friday night with a game-high 35 disposals and nine clearances.
It was Anderson’s sixth pre-season on the SUNS list and first without his long-time ruck combatant as a co-captain, but Witts says the SUNS are in good hands with its host of young leaders, including the likes of Wil Powell, Ben King and Matt Rowell.
“I think with Noah and a lot of those young guys, it was my first or second year as captain when they came into the team, and it’s been great just watching them grow and develop. We obviously have a close relationship because we play with each other in the midfield,” Witts said.
“Rowelly’s the same. Just to see him develop into the person he is now and the player he has become… to just have played a small part of that is really exciting for me personally, but also the footy club moving forward to have Noah as our skipper.”
A small number of tickets remain available for Saturday’s Opening Round clash via Ticketek with the best way to guarantee your seat in People First Stadium being by becoming a GC SUNS 2025 member.
Click here for all the important match day information.
