History has recorded that, in the absence of seasoned thoroughbreds at the barrier, the Demons went for two lightly raced colts – virtual yearlings – in the two Jacks, Trengove and Grimes.

On Monday, Grimes stepped down after three years as a co-captain, ending a poorly conceived, yet revealing experiment – comparable to Mark Latham's premature ascension to the Labor leadership – that is unlikely to be re-visited by an AFL club any time.

Trengove was 20 and had played 37 games. At this point, he seemed on track to be a gun player – the feet problems that have plagued him were not yet evident, and if he lacked pace, this didn't seem likely to hinder his progress on the field.

Grimes, a tender 22, had been viewed as leadership material shortly after he was drafted, having skippered his under-18 team (Northern Knights) and the Victorian Metro under 18s. But he'd endured injures that had restricted him to 32 games in his first four seasons.

Brad Green had held the leadership for a season, as a transitional leader (Simon Crean/Brendan Nelson), at a time when the club was immersed in turmoil culminating in the sacking of the late Dean Bailey and friction between senior players and the club administration, headed by chief executive Cameron Schwab.

In hindsight, the Demons had erred 12 months earlier when they pushed James McDonald into retirement. "Junior" McDonald had been the stand out, not because he had the standing of Nelson Mandela or Abraham Lincoln, but due to the sheer absence of seasoned alternatives. McDonald would come out of retirement to play on at Greater Western Sydney in 2012.

"It was a lack of candidates at the time," said one former Melbourne official, bluntly explaining how the two Jacks were prematurely anointed. Nathan Jones, who has since proven a capable leader, was then viewed as a highly professional player who was too devoted to his own game to be responsible for others.

Mark Neeld also had a mandate – handed to him by the board and executive – to change a playing culture that was seen as excessively mollycoddled. Neeld subsequently struggled with a number of the senior players, who, fairly or not, felt slighted.

Grimes and Trengove were assessed as the "stand outs" as leadership material. The club set up a process which, in hindsight, insiders say was flawed. The Demons asked the players and staff to assess the playing group on a series of criteria – team-orientation, work ethic and so on. On this basis – of assessing everyone's mettle and ticking the most boxes – the two boys were made joint monarchs. Unfortunately, one important – indispensable – box contained a cross: experience.

Trengove was an even younger captain than David Dench, who was 20 upon his appointment to a bottom team (North) in 1972 and had also been compelled to abdicate; Dench did, however, captain the club to its second premiership five years later (when regular skipper Keith Greig was grounded). The pity for Grimes is that he would probably be ready for captaincy in 2015, given his pedigree and personal qualities.

North Melbourne succeeded with making Wayne Carey captain as a 21-year-old, while Robert Walls made an inspired decision when he promoted Stephen Kernahan to the captaincy in only his second season, in which he held the premiership cup aloft. Kernahan was 24, however, and clearly an imminent superstar, while Carey was the club's – and within 12 months, probably the game's – pre-eminent player.

In forcing these youngsters to wear what became crowns of thorns, the Demons might have adversely impacted on the careers of Grimes and  particularly Trengove, though injuries have obviously contributed to the latter's issues, as much as confidence.

Once, clubs made the mistake of appointing the only best player, rather than the best leader, to the captaincy. The Dees appointed the best leaders. They just hadn't established themselves as players, and both have suffered for it.