Veteran second-rower Ryan Hoffman said losing the captaincy of the Warriors came as a surprise to him and admitted to feeling "very disappointed" following the decision.
The Warriors this week announced fullback Roger Tuivasa-Sheck as their new captain, putting a premature end to Hoffman's one year stint as skipper of the Kiwi club.
With new coach Stephen Kearney confirming that 2017 will be Hoffman's third and final year with the Warriors – following the signing of Kiwi international Tohu Harris on a four-year deal from 2018 – the club have looked to the future in appointing Tuivasa-Sheck to the role.
But while understanding of the situation, Hoffman told NRL.com that it hadn't made his demotion any easier to take.
"Look, the club is looking towards the future, I was very disappointed, I would have liked to have been the captain still," Hoffman said.
"It wasn't announced [that I would be losing the captaincy] and I only found out last week.
"But the decision was made with the thought of the team in mind and I told Roger right away that he would have my full support.
"You can't help but take solace out of the fact that the club is looking to go in a strong direction.
"I am very excited to see him in the role because I know he is going to do a fantastic job. I think he is a great man for the role, he has got great respect within the group and has done a lot of stuff in the game."
At 23 years of age and with only 91 NRL Telstra Premiership games under his belt, Tuivasa-Sheck currently stands to be the youngest captain in the 2017 competition, although he has more first-grade experience behind him than Penrith Panthers skipper Matt Moylan.
But Hoffman believed youth would be no barrier to success for the Kiwi international.
"Roger is young, he is inexperienced, but the only way to get experience is to actually do it," Hoffman said.
"I have known some captains who started really young and I have known some captains who started older, I think it more comes down to the personality of the individual.
"Roger has got the benefit of having quite a few leaders around him and I am sure he won't feel alone in the role."
Rookie forward Bunty Afoa, who played the first four games of his NRL career under Hoffman last year, said Tuivasa-Sheck had taken the announcement in his stride.
"Roger was serious about the whole thing when it was announced because it is a serious matter," Afoa said.
"That is a big role he has taken on, he is filling some big shoes with Simon (Mannering) being one of the previous guys to have held the role, and also 'Hoffy'.
"I am looking forward to seeing what Roger brings to the table and I am excited to play under him this year."
