When Melbourne considered its captaincy options prior to the 2012 season, the club had so little confidence in the leadership capacity of its senior players that it made a radical decision that finally reached an inglorious end on Monday.

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.