Two of the State League's best midfielders have been charged with leading Launceston into a new era.
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Jobi Harper and Jay Blackberry were announced as the Blues' new co-captains earlier this month, taking the reins from ruckman Hamish Leedham and retired veteran Chris Savage.
TSL premiership teammates at South Launceston, the pair have played just once together in Launceston colours, with Harper's first game back from an ankle reconstruction coinciding with the first major injury of Blackberry's career.
The 27-year-old, who will lead from the sidelines while he continues his recovery from a ruptured ACL, said he couldn't wait to join Harper on the field later this season.
"It's an honour," Blackberry said.
"The club's one of the oldest in Australia so to have the opportunity to lead the group that we have this year and going forward is quite exciting - I'm looking forward to the challenge.
"Jobi's probably going to be the hard nut out of the two of us - I reckon I'll probably be the mellow, talk-it-through type of leader but we both obviously want to lead on-field.
"I'm not the most outspoken person but we'll improve that and we'll be able to build a good relationship between the two of us."
An electrician by trade, Harper looks set to take his game to a new level after enjoying his first full pre-season for the Blues.
The 25-year-old midfield bull played every game after debuting in round seven last year, and was emphatic about how he was enjoying life at his third State League club.
"I love it," he said.
"I finally really enjoyed footy again after a couple of years where I haven't really.
"Last year I really enjoyed it, hence why I'm going to stick around.
"I started off in the midfield and moved back to centre half-back just to fill a role that we needed for the side ... this year I'm expecting to play a majority through the midfield and wherever [coach Mitch Thorp] sees fit for me.
"It [the captaincy] wasn't something I really expected but I feel honoured to get it."
Part of Harper's new role will be to help the Blues' talented youngsters adapt to the rigours of senior football following the loss of a number of key players over the off-season.
Sam Lonergan, Rulla Kelly-Mansell, Jamieson House, Tom Mundy and Jake Hinds all departed for the mainland following the 2018 season, paving the way for a new generation of Blues to make their mark at Windsor Park.
"We lost a fair few to interstate and higher levels of football but our D-league last year was pretty strong so I'd expect to get a lot of improvement from those kind of guys," Harper said.
"There wasn't much difference between our 15th best player on our list and the 35th best player on our list last year, so a lot of the people that have left will be replaced by young guys coming through so I still expect we'll be a strong side."
The Blues kick off their season on Saturday with a home clash against Glenorchy, where they will meet former teammate and ex-captain Sam Rundle for the first time since his departure.
Blackberry's absence will be felt against a Magpies midfield also boasting the likes of Rhys Mott and Brayden Webb, but the TSL's most-capped player is confident of still impacting matches in his other role as assistant coach.
"It's been a long pre-season for me personally because you train away from the group so that's different," Blackberry said.
"You get a different outlook on football from that point of view so that may or may not be a negative, but we'll see how that pans out when it comes to playing again.
"I pretty much destroyed my full knee but it's all good now, I've not had any setbacks or anything like that.
"Zac [Young] our physio's been unreal, we haven't rushed anything and the natural progression's been going really well.
"Sooner rather than later would be nice [for a return] but we're not going to put a date on it because things can change quite quickly."
- Grab a copy of Saturday's Examiner for coach Mitch Thorp's take on the Blues' upcoming season.