Most would make the drive from Narromine to Canberra and back, and think it simply isn't worth the effort or petrol money. But this ACT Brumbies back-rower is wired a little differently.

It's that kind of commitment that led Brumbies coach Dan Hawke, his staff and players to agree Smyth was the right player to captain the club in the looming Super W season.

Smyth fills the void left by Michaela Leonard, who will miss the opening half of the Super W season after signing with Matatu for New Zealand's Super Rugby Aupiki tournament.

Leonard is poised to return to the Brumbies for the back end of the Super W campaign, taking a chance to elevate her game abroad with the blessing of coach Hawke.

Hawke didn't have to look far for the successor.

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Smyth was voted in unanimously by both the coaching staff and playing group.

The back-rower is the reigning Helen Taylor Players' Player of the Year award winner, claiming the gong last season two years after she was supposedly hanging up the boots - and she hopes the best is yet to come.

"I think we can win this. This will be my third year and I've always hoped we could get there," Smyth said.

"This year I think we can do it. We've got the personnel, we've got the drive, we've got the staff behind us, and we've got the want to do it.

"There's a few reasons I do [the trip]. I do it firstly because I love the game. I thought I was finished and then I saw these girls on TV when I was just sitting at home. I thought 'God, I'd love to be out there'. After the first training session I rocked up at, I knew this is where I wanted to be. These girls make it easy to do that drive.

"Another reason is I want my kids to see being part of a team is something you don't always have the privilege of being part of, and it doesn't matter how old you are, it can still happen."

A former Wallaroo who has represented her country at multiple World Cups, Smyth is a hugely respected figure regardless of whether she's playing for the Brumbies or running around at home in Narromine.

"I'm honoured to be leading this group this season," she said.

"I've loved every minute of playing for the Brumbies and I believe this group can achieve special things if we do the work required.

"Being captain means I'll run out first and speak to the referee, but we have a really strong leadership group as well and we're all committed to driving the standards we have set for ourselves as a team."

The Super W draw is set to be released in early February with Hawke's official squad announcement will follow.

Dubbo's Kim Fyfe and LillyAnn Mason-Spice were part of the Brumbies' squad last season.

Regardless of who makes the final squad, Hawke knows it will have the perfect leader.

"It just puts into perspective what these women are willing to do to be a part of this program. She's a mother of four, she's a tremendous woman," Hawke said of Smyth.

"She's been in the Wallaroos, she has played Test matches, but she is really emotionally intelligent. She knows when to crack the whip, she knows when to be kind. She can just read the room so well that every time she speaks, everyone just listens."

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