On the face of it, Tom Rockliff's demotion to vice-captain at Brisbane would seem a slap in the face but it's actually an impressive story of redemption.
At least that's how Dayne Beams, the man who replaced him in the top job, sees it.
Rockliff was widely reported to want out of the Lions at the end of a tumultuous 2016 season and his stocks hit rock bottom when he was censured by the club for a sexist social media post.
But Beams, who was appointed captain in February, says Rockliff has come a long way.
"I think what Tom's been able to do over the past four or five months is earn the respect back of the playing group," Beams said.
"I think he would have admitted himself he wouldn't have expected to be captain of the footy club at the end of last year.
"But he was right in contention to be the captain again (when the players voted) so to have the boys think highly enough of him in that regard ... he's done an amazing amount of work to earn that respect back.
"You have to give credit where credit's due ... he copped a fair whack through the end of last year and he's been able to put his head down and work hard.
"I'm really looking forward to Tom's support, I'm going to lean on him hugely, and he's definitely someone I need in my corner."
The quietly-spoken Beams admits some of the responsibilities that come with his new role - mostly around the public appearances required - will have him out of his comfort zone.
He's only been in a leadership group once before - at Collingwood in 2013 - and admits he wasn't a great leader then.
But the 27-year-old, who is now married and has a six-month old girl, says he's done a lot of maturing since he left the Magpies.
However, he hasn't enjoyed a great run on the field at his new club, playing 16 games in 2015 and just two last year as a knee tendon issue took hold.
"That's the only doubt I had - 'Will my body hold up?' - and it's a fair question," he replied when asked if his reliability issues had played a part in his decision to accept the captaincy.
"But I didn't ever think to myself 'How am I going to captain the footy club from the sidelines'.
"All of my energy and focus is around captaining the club on the field and I'm confident I'll be able to do that."
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