Patrick Dangerfield and Rory Sloane would both love to captain the Crows one day, but the young midfielders say Nathan van Berlo remains the best man for the job.

Dangerfield and Sloane will get a taste of the captaincy this season. The influential midfielders have been appointed joint vice-captains at Adelaide and will share the on-field captaincy duties in the absence of injured skipper Nathan van Berlo.

Externally, there were calls for Dangerfield or Sloane to replace van Berlo, who could miss a large chunk of the season with an Achilles injury. Dangerfield dismissed the suggestions, saying he and Sloane both had areas of their leadership to improve on.

“Those calls are from outside our (Club’s) four walls and they don’t understand what happens inside these walls. ‘VB’ is the best leader at our football club and that hasn’t changed for four years. He’s been outstanding in the way he approaches his preparation and also the influence he has on the entire group,” Dangerfield said on Friday.

“Sloaney and I have been in the leadership group for a few years now. We’ve both aspired to bigger and better things. To one day lead the Club would be fantastic and we’d love to do it, but we’re not the best men for the job at the moment – the best man is VB. We’ll live and learn and make mistakes along the way, but we’ve got great support around us to help us become better leaders.

“From our perspective, VB is the skipper and he’ll be the skipper all season. Sloaney and I have a role to play on game day, which we’ll do. We complement each other really well, but there are certainly things we need to improve on both playing-wise and off the field in leadership areas.

“We’ll warm the seat while the skipper’s out and when he comes back we’ll support him the same.”

Sloane said it was “no surprise” van Berlo was reappointed, adding the West Australian had the backing of the entire playing group.

“It was horrible seeing VB go down. He was really setting himself for a massive year both with his leadership and on field. It really shattered us that session,” Sloane said.

“We’ve known internally that VB would be our captain all the way along. When you speak to any of the players here, you knew it was always going to be VB.”

Dangerfield and Sloane, both 23, have shared “a good ride” in the early stages of their careers.

The pair arrived at West Lakes only 12 months apart (Dangerfield in 2007 and Sloane in 2008). They were both promoted to the leadership group ahead of the 2012 season and have established themselves as elite players in the competition since that time.

The close mates believe they’ll complement each other as co-vice captains.

“Sloaney and I played Under-18s footy against each other. We came through the Victorian development system and have basically lived in each other’s back pockets for six years now,” Dangerfield said.

“Sloaney is really good at motivating the side and that’s an area I need to improve on. He helps influence others – that’s another thing I need to improve on because sometimes I just go out and do things.”

Sloane agreed, adding that Dangerfield had different strengths.

“Danger and I know each other very well. On field we gel together, but it’s going to have to go to the next level,” he said.

“Danger’s strength is that he can do things no one else can. When the game is in the balance, you know he’s going to be the one to stand up and win you the game.”

Coach Brenton Sanderson said the leadership group, which includes two-time Club Champion Scott Thompson, ruckman Sam Jacobs and first-time members Taylor Walker and Richard Douglas, had a good blend of experience and exciting youth.

“Strategically, we’ve designed the group so we can fast-track our great young leaders for the next step when they’re ready,” he said.

“If you ask Nathan, his week is full of commitments. It’s not just about getting himself ready to play. (The captaincy) is an enormous job here in Adelaide – it’s a big market to be captain in. These two young guys (Dangerfield and Sloane) will be great at handling that. Dangerfield and Sloane are certainly the spirit and the soul of our footy club.

“The boys understand they’ve both got exceptionally good leadership skills in certain areas and that there are other things they need to work on. I’m looking forward to seeing how quickly they develop in that role.”

Sloane said the emerging Crows leaders would work closely with the skipper and their experienced teammates this season.

“We’ve got some amazing leaders, who aren’t in the leadership group like Ben Rutten and Brent Reilly. We’ll work with those guys and Scotty Thompson to fast-track our development to get to their level. They’re some of our best leaders still.”