Six months after turning down a lucrative offer from Geelong, star midfielder Travis Boak has been appointed as the new Port Adelaide captain.

Boak – who committed to a new two-year deal with the Power in September – succeeds Dom Cassisi, who led the AFL club for four seasons.

Fellow midfielder Brad Ebert has been promoted to vice-captain after enjoying a successful first season with the Power, having begun his career at West Coast.

The 24-year-old Boak – who served as vice-captain to Cassisi in 2012 – becomes the 69th captain in Port Adelaide’s history and its fifth at AFL level.

“It’s a great honour to be captain of this great club and have the opportunity to play a role that so many outstanding players have filled in the past,” said Boak, who grew up in the Victorian coastal town of Torquay and was heavily courted last year by Geelong.

“To take over from Dom, who has done such a fantastic job for the club and our group of players, is a real privilege for both Brad and me.

“Nothing will change too much from the past and what has got me here, and that’s continually working hard and trying to set an example for the rest of the group.

“That’s the way I’ll do it. I’ll continue to voice up and challenge guys and continue to help them improve and hopefully lead the club to some successful times.”

New coach Ken Hinkley recommended the leadership appointments, saying Boak and Ebert had stood out during the pre-season.

Hinkley consulted with the playing group and coaching staff before making his decision.

“Coming in as a new coach, I had the benefit of being able to really take a fresh look at all the players’ leadership qualities over the past three months,” Hinkley said.

“We’ve watched the actions of the boys throughout pre-season right back to the trip overseas in late October, looking at their ability to show leadership and demonstrate it on a daily basis.”

Hinkley praised Cassisi for his approach to the process, saying the 30-year-old could easily have been reappointed as captain if the club was not satisfied its next generation of leaders was ready to step up.

“Dom and I have had a really mutual understanding and basically agreed that if we got to the end of pre-season and no-one was ready to take over, he could certainly be captain again,” Hinkley said.

In keeping with tradition at Port Adelaide, Boak will wear the captain’s No.1 jersey from 2013 with his No.10 held vacant for as long as he is leader.