New Western Bulldogs captain Ryan Griffen believes his leadership style will be different to that of former skipper Matthew Boyd, with a heavy focus on making sure his teammates are happy.

The midfielder was officially unveiled as the club's new skipper at Victoria University Whitten Oval on Wednesday morning.

The 27-year-old believes he is ready for the new responsibility at the Bulldogs, and says he will approach the captaincy in his own way. 

"I was sitting in bed last night thinking of all the captains from the past: you know, Chris Grant, Luke Darcy, Brad Johnson," Griffen said.

"These are guys I looked up to when I first got to the footy club. It's something very special."

"I think my style's going to be a lot different to Boydy's and other captains'.

"I think my style is going to be caring for my teammates. I love this club dearly, so it's all about the players underneath me and making sure they feel comfortable in their environment, and that they're playing good footy."

The club is yet to decide whether Griffen will be supported by an official leadership group in 2014.

"There will be some people around Ryan, whether it's official or unofficial, we'll wait and see," coach Brendan McCartney said.

"We were unofficial last year but it was terrific how young people and slightly more experienced people just emerged within the group and took responsibility and drove the game-style and drove standards and accepted that responsibility, and we think it will probably happen again.

"We've got more talks to have, whether we have a formal leadership group, or as I said, an informal leadership group. It will be guided by Ryan, and what he needs.

"We've also given him an undertaking, and so have his teammates, and a lot of them with their experiences are there to support and to help and to take some of the responsibility off his plate.

"The one thing that Boydy did as captain, he had an incredible appetite to deal with on-field responsibility and off-field responsibility and that's not everyone's cup of tea. We'll compliment Ryan's strengths with some people that can help him do the role."

Griffen captained the Dogs eight times in Boyd's absence last season, and the coach believes it enhanced his game.

"We felt it made him a better player," McCartney said.

"It made him a more dynamic player and a more competitive player and his game went to the next level."

"We have no doubt that when he's playing well there's no better player in the game than Ryan."

Griffen has played 183 games for the Bulldogs since being selected with pick No.3 in the 2004 AFL Draft.

Congratulate Ryan Griffen on receiving the captaincy at Christmas Open Training, including a signing session on Wednesday 11 December 2013, from 3:00-5:00pm. More details shortly on westernbulldogs.com.au