St Kilda veteran Leigh Montagna has anointed the unassuming Jarryn Geary as the "front runner" to become the Saints' next captain.
After spending the last 10 years in the job, for a total of 11, Nick Riewoldt vacated the captaincy at the end of last season as the club's longest-serving skipper.
![Jarryn Geary: Heading the shortlist to be the next St Kilda captain, says Leigh Montagna.](/web/20170112092843im_/http://www.theage.com.au/content/dam/images/g/q/r/9/7/b/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gtq1nv.png/1484189075858.jpg)
The champion Saint led his team in 220 games, the third-most in league history behind Carlton's Stephen Kernahan (226) and Essendon's Dick Reynolds (224).
Suffice to say, Riewoldt's successor has some pretty big shoes to fill, but Montagna said there was no shortage of quality candidates.
"Gears [Geary] is probably the front runner at this stage. We've got a lot of these younger guys who are ready to take the step," Montagna told SEN radio on Thursday.
"Jack Steven has come along in leaps and bounds and Mav Weller is a terrific leader and Dave Armitage. So we have a few options.
"I think Gears is terrific, he's highly rated at the football club. He's not probably as well known outside the footy club but certainly internally we rate him really highly."
St Kilda's leadership group for 2017 and new captain will be announced in the next few weeks.
One man who likely won't feature is Jake Carlisle. But, after a rocky start to life as a Saint that saw him embroiled in an illicit drugs controversy shortly after being traded from Essendon and then a year-long WADA-imposed suspension, the former Bomber has been impressing Montagna this pre-season.
"He's going really well," Montagna said.
"I think I've noticed a bit of maturity in him in the last 12 months from when he came to pre-season a year ago.
"He's really fitted into the group really well this time around, he's training hard, he's a hard worker and he's just a big unit.
"He's certainly going to be a great asset to us, I like the way he goes about his footy, he knows what he's doing and he's got his body in good shape which is really important."
Montagna, who heads into his 16th season at 33 and still without that elusive premiership medal after a few near misses in 2009 and 2010, was inspired by the Western Bulldogs' fairy tale premiership last year.
"It's given all teams like us that hope that anything is possible especially if you've got that belief and you play with confidence and you have a crack week in, week out like the Bulldogs did," Montagna said.
"It just shows that you don't have to have been at the top of the ladder for years on end ... anything's possible for anyone."