Although McDonald's appointment is akin to one-year Collingwood skipper Scott Burns’ last year, he is adamant he wants to do the job for more than one season. Burns retired at the end of 2008 a couple of months short of his 34th birthday while McDonald will play the 2009 season as a 32-year-old.
Still, McDonald is like a good bottle of red, having got better with age.
In the past three years, McDonald has been named All-Australian, won two Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Trophies and played for Australia in the 2006 International Rules series.
Last year he finished fifth in Melbourne's best-and-fairest last year despite missing three matches with a groin injury.
He is now 15h on the all-time list of games played at Melbourne and says the captaincy has revitalised him. "At this stage of my career, it probably has refreshed me a little bit," he said.
"It's probably easy just to focus on yourself a little bit, but now the focus isn't only on myself, but the rest of the team as well. I have more interaction with the players and you get to know them better, so it's been really interesting from that point of view as well."
Although he conceded there were a few more extra duties as captain, McDonald said the club had been great to him since his appointment. He also relished the opportunity to be involved in the captains' day on Thursday afternoon.
"It's actually pretty exciting for me to be able to chat to some of these superstars of the game and be able to mix with them. It's been great," he said.
"The Melbourne footy club has been really good in helping share the load. We've got a good base of boys who can always help out with responsibilities, so it's been good so far. It has been too tiring or anything; it's actually been enjoyable."
Despite spending some time in defence last year, McDonald said he would predominantly play in the midfield again in 2009.
"I went down back a little bit last year because we had a few injuries, but I've been training in the midfield this pre-season, so it'll be a similar role to what I've been doing over the last few years," he said.
McDonald said having debuted as a 20-year-old via the rookie list in 2007 had extended his journey in the AFL. He indicated this was a reason for his outstanding form in the latter part of his career.
"It's probably happened late because I was a late starter. I started at Melbourne when I was 20 and probably two or three years behind how most kids start now," he said.
"In a way, that's probably helped my longevity in the game, when my body wasn't getting bashed around.
"I've got a few personal accolades, but it's all about how I can help the team and achieve the ultimate success, which is what it's all about."
