Jacobs captained the Suns to five premierships from six grand final appearances during his eight years at the helm of what has become the BDCA’s modern day power.

The wicket-keeper batsman, who is second on the list of all-time runs for the Suns behind Kevin Crawford, will continue as a player with the club.

“Having a heavy involvement with footy this year (Eaglehawk reserves and senior assistant coach) and having a young family now has played a part in making the decision to step down,” Jacobs said on Wednesday.

“We’re in a bit of a different phase now with some young kids coming through and I feel from my point of view that I’ve probably exhausted every bit of competitiveness out of the group and perhaps a different voice and change in gameplan could be beneficial for the club.

“I’d like to think it’s a decision that is in the best interests of the club.”

During his eight years as captain, the Suns won 83 of 105 completed games, while there were another 15 drawn matches.

“I was pretty young and probably a bit naive on how the job worked when I first started, but I will be forever grateful for the opportunity the club gave me,” said Jacobs, who is the owner of the Suns’ record score of 209, as well as most dismissals for the club.

“We had a young group together at the time and were fortunate that there was some talent there and it all rolled into one and we’ve been able to have some success and enjoy a good period.”

Jacobs has also captained Bendigo’s Melbourne Country Week team for the past four years.

“I’d be happy to captain the team in Melbourne again, but I’d also be as happy just to go as a player and have another crack at it after the way it ended earlier this year (relegated to division two),” Jacobs said.

“If there’s a better man for the job then I’d be more than happy to step aside.”