In the sorry aftermath of Hawthorn's humiliation by Geelong last Sunday, 20-year-old Luke Hodge quietly admonished a senior teammate for failing to shepherd.
The injured Hodge had been asked by the coaching panel to track Hawthorn's forward-line players and monitor some of their "efforts".
Having detected a failure to do the team thing, Hodge - a plain-speaking Colac boy - had no hesitation in telling his much more seasoned teammate where he had erred.
This gentle rebuke was a portent of imminent change, a sign of the direction the Hawks have been compelled to take and of what might happen at Glenferrie over summer.
Recognising its chronic leadership shortfall within the senior group, the Hawks are already turning to Hodge, Sam Mitchell, Campbell Brown and Nick Ries to forge a new, selfless team ethic.
One would expect that by the beginning of 2005, some of these youngsters will be handed formal responsibilities and co-opted into the leadership group.
Hawthorn insiders believe these kids have the right stuff to lead the shell-shocked troops and have encouraged them to take some ownership of a rudderless ship that appears reef-bound, if it's not wrecked already.
Uber-professional skipper Shane Crawford leads by example more than words, but receives scant support. The imported former St Kilda dissident Peter Everitt is the notable exception.
Nathan Thompson is said to have leadership attributes, but he can't get a kick right now and struggles for consistency. The rest of the senior citizens are introverted, injured or playing for survival.
The coaching panel has high hopes for Hodge, in particular. The No. 1 draft pick of 2001 has three commodities in short supply at Glenferrie: on-field aggression, a forthright streak and an innate team ethic.
The query on Hodge is his durability. If he is Hawthorn's next captain, he must first demonstrate that his body can withstand the rigours of league football.
Brown, too, has some of the ingredients missing from the senior group, including meanness and a selfless streak. Back in the middle of last season, it was Brown's sacrificial spoil of Nigel Smart - in which the son of Mal did his shoulder - that arguably transformed Hawthorn's season; at the best and fairest last year, coach Peter Schwab certainly highlighted it as a turning point.
The question mark over Brown will be whether he has sufficient football ability to assume the leadership position his character warrants. The same might be said of Ries, though it's early days.
Great leaders aren't necessarily great players. When Mick Malthouse appointed John Worsfold West Coast captain before the 1991 season, he made a powerful statement. Worsfold was far from the best player at the Eagles, yet his appointment did much to forge the spirit that brought two flags.
Malcolm Blight, too, followed this script of elevating character over talent when he handed the captaincy to Mark Bickley in his first season as Adelaide coach.
The Hawks haven't yet taken the plunge as Blight and Malthouse did with young leaders, or as Denis Pagan did with Wayne Carey back in 1993. Letting Hodge and Co have their say is the first small step.