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Geelong star Patrick Dangerfield is the new president of the AFL Players Association, taking over while he is at the peak of his career. The 2016 Brownlow Medallist succeeds former Fremantle captain Matthew Pavlich, who held the role for three years and helped negotiate last year's collective bargaining agreement. Speaking after his appointment on Monday night, Dangerfield also confirmed he would play for Geelong in Sunday's pre-season match against Essendon in Colac. Dangerfield and fellow Cats stars Joel Selwood and Gary Ablett sat out the weekend's heavy loss to Gold Coast. Pavlich said it was a deliberate decision for Dangerfield, 27, to take over as president. "There can be a bit of a void so this allowed us to be a bit more planned. Obviously a first-class player to fill the role," he said. "It strongly advocates that players do aspire to this role and the importance of a strong players association."  Dangerfield had been a vice-president at the players association for the past couple of years. Carlton's Sam Docherty takes his vice-presidency role, while former players Chris Heffernan and Luke McPharlin have also joined the AFLPA board. The changes were announced at the AFLPA's season launch in Melbourne. "He (Pavlich) has done all the hard work so it shouldn't be too hard from here," Dangerfield joked. "It's not just CBAs we're talking about - it's working environments and making sure the wellbeing and mental health of our players is as good as it possibly can be. "We've got plenty to work through. "Obviously we now have (female) players, to make sure we look after them and to bump up where they are in the industry, but also look after our current players."
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