Max Gawn is set to be confirmed on Monday as Melbourne’s new AFL captain.

The All-Australian ruckman will reportedly assume the role after a leadership vote was ratified by the club’s hierarchy.

Nathan Jones and Jack Viney have co-captained the Demons for the past three seasons, with Jones stepping down last year.

Melbourne coach Simon Goodwin indicated a leadership announcement was imminent after Saturday’s pre-season series win over Adelaide.

“It’s something we want to talk through with the playing group, we want to talk through with the leadership of the club and come to a decision in the next few days,” Goodwin said.

The rise to club captaincy will be another step in Gawn’s career.

The 28-year-old has played 120 games for Melbourne and won the club’s best-and-fairest award in 2018 and 2019.

He was named in the All-Australian team in both of those years, as well as in 2016, and shapes as a key figure in the Demons’ bid to rebound from a horror season in which they won only five games.

However, it wasn’t always smooth sailing for a player who in 2018 admitted he used to drink heavily and smoke on the way to training early in his career.

He also had to battle through serious knee injuries before finally cementing himself in the Melbourne line-up in the second half of 2015.

Gawn is now widely regarded as the best ruckman in the competition alongside Collingwood’s Brodie Grundy.