AFL Player #21: Dyson Heppell - Goodnight, sweet prince. What a legend! 🤙 - 24/8

[Lore]

Contract Status: Unrestricted Free Agent 2024
My Boy Draft 2024: Pick 27, Highly Evolved

 

[windyhill]

Taking their sweet time in announcing it.

 

[MiguelM]

Heppell a shoe in IMO.

 

[fishardansin]

If Heppell wants it and is a best 22 lock (insiders will know if he is based on training form), then he should be captain.

 

[The Donners]

If he’s not captain he’s not in the team. If he’s captain he’ll have half a season to perform before even considered being dropped in my opinion - and this thread will turn brutal.

 

[Vander18]

My first response was “here we go….avoiding the hard calls again.”

But on reflection….the easy call is probably to stand Heppell down and insert Merrett or McGrath. Many would view both of them as potential skippers and as strong leaders and there would be little controversy if we went down that path.

But while I’m no fan of Heppell as skipper, I’m even less convinced those two are captaincy material. Looks like the club agrees - rolling Heppell out again is an indictment of our next level of leadership and sends a clear message.

I imagine Merrett likely thought the captaincy was just a formality - I will. be glad if that’s not the case.

 

[MightyDon]

Is Hep an on field leader? Cos I don’t see it, what’s the point of playing a guy who’s not good enough to get a game of football merit and brings SFA leadership game day. We can’t keep hiding him on the field, he’s not in at the center bounce, he’s not general organizing defense he’s hiding on a wing or flank we’re they are trying for him to have the least negative impact on the side, that’s not a leader

 

[Keystone agony]

Is Hep an on field leader? Cos I don’t see it, what’s the point of playing a guy who’s not good enough to get a game of football merit and brings SFA leadership game day. We can’t keep hiding him on the field, he’s not in at the center bounce, he’s not general organizing defense he’s hiding on a wing or flank we’re they are trying for him to have the least negative impact on the side, that’s not a leader

Plenty of leaders who have had success aswell might i add have been on a flank

But yes Heppell does provide leadership onfield

 

[bombreys]

So him being fitter than he has been for 5 years and totally injury free does not compute ? I am telling you the word from inside the club is he is in the best condition he has been for 5 years. Where that ends up is a question but he is fitter than he was last year.

It doesn't not compute, I just don't think fitness is going to make a huge difference to the enormous flaws in his game. He absolutely butchered the footy last year with his rainbow kicks and was painfully slow. Fitness/conditioning isn't going to fix that. I'd be willing to be his play on the field this year is no better than last year.

 

[ant555]

It doesn't not compute, I just don't think fitness is going to make a huge difference to the enormous flaws in his game. He absolutely butchered the footy last year with his rainbow kicks and was painfully slow. Fitness/conditioning isn't going to fix that. I'd be willing to be his play on the field this year is no better than last year.

We will see how it goes. I have made a prediction . It may not come off but there is some confidence from inside the club that he will be okay. I may be off the mark and I was one that said he was gone last year but I have also seen players regain some decent form when they are not playing injury free.

 

[bombreys]

We will see how it goes. I have made a prediction . It may not come off but there is some confidence from inside the club that he will be okay. I may be off the mark and I was one that said he was gone last year but I have also seen players regain some decent form when they are not playing injury free.

Here's hoping. It's easy to forget how good he was not too long ago, I just hope it's all managed the right way this year.

 

[thepokey]

I guess another angle to this is Scott wanting a year with the team as a whole to work out who he would prefer as captain moving forward. A summer of training is a good start, but his own personal leanings might change after season proper.

 

[Lore]

Brad Scott has twice raised the prospect of co-captains, once with the Dorothy Dixer interview from Timmy and again in the press conference in Bendigo when it wasn’t specifically prompted, he corrected himself to say captain or captains.

I think my money is on Merrett as captain, and Heppell as co-captain if he wants it, some sort of vice/LG position if he chooses to step down. McGrath as vice, and some combination of Redman, Langford, Laverde, Hobbs, perhaps Shiel or Parish as leadership group, depending on how big the group is.

 

[faible]

We will see how it goes. I have made a prediction . It may not come off but there is some confidence from inside the club that he will be okay. I may be off the mark and I was one that said he was gone last year but I have also seen players regain some decent form when they are not playing injury free.

If he's fitter, but still one-paced, I don't think he'll be all that much more useful than he was last year.

He works hard, covers a lot of ground, offers a marking target, and with pressure on the ball carrier is a very good reader of the ball in flight to intercept mark. But his speed off the mark meant he couldn't cover a man defensively.

 

[Chucks]

My first response was “here we go….avoiding the hard calls again.”

But on reflection….the easy call is probably to stand Heppell down and insert Merrett or McGrath. Many would view both of them as potential skippers and as strong leaders and there would be little controversy if we went down that path.

But while I’m no fan of Heppell as skipper, I’m even less convinced those two are captaincy material. Looks like the club agrees - rolling Heppell out again is an indictment of our next level of leadership and sends a clear message.

I imagine Merrett likely thought the captaincy was just a formality - I will. be glad if that’s not the case.

I constantly keep reverting back to the decision to drop Merrett from the leadership group a few years ago. Does anyone recall the reasoning for that, or what the word surrounding that was? Was that an indictment on Merrett, or just appallingly bad decision making?

Because I constantly think about this when Merrett's name gets raised to be skipper. Anyone remember the general reasoning behind this?

 

[thebigboy]

I constantly keep reverting back to the decision to drop Merrett from the leadership group a few years ago. Does anyone recall the reasoning for that, or what the word surrounding that was? Was that an indictment on Merrett, or just appallingly bad decision making?

Because I constantly think about this when Merrett's name gets raised to be skipper. Anyone remember the general reasoning behind this?

Think it was a bit of both. I believe the decision was made by his peers to do with his ability to deliver feedback, but probably also appalling decision making if it wasn't addressed by his peers/coaching staff during that year.

I can't imagine he would be the only person to be dropped from a leadership group to then comeback as the captain down the track. It's just an easy talking point for the media.

 

[Lore]

I constantly keep reverting back to the decision to drop Merrett from the leadership group a few years ago. Does anyone recall the reasoning for that, or what the word surrounding that was? Was that an indictment on Merrett, or just appallingly bad decision making?

Because I constantly think about this when Merrett's name gets raised to be skipper. Anyone remember the general reasoning behind this?

He didn't get the votes.

Or, to be more specific, the voting system isn't a straight popularity vote for who you want to be captain. Every player rates all of their teammates on 4-5 criteria which align to the "Essendon values", and the values the year he got dropped were changed from the previous year to emphasise something that Hurley did better than Merrett, which meant that Hurley came into the leadership group and Merrett was dropped.

The Essendon values changed to 4Cs (care, commit, compete, celebrate) when Rutten officially took over running the whole program in 2021, but before that they had something else that was never made explicit under Worsfold, so we don't know exactly what Merrett wasn't doing that got him dropped.

The general assumption is that he's more introverted than Heppell, and less... easy for his teammates to talk to, confide in, harder to ask for support?

 

[yodellinhank]

Think it was a bit of both. I believe the decision was made by his peers to do with his ability to deliver feedback, but probably also appalling decision making if it wasn't addressed by his peers/coaching staff during that year.

I can't imagine he would be the only person to be dropped from a leadership group to then comeback as the captain down the track. It's just an easy talking point for the media.

Interesting. Maybe he's learnt to laugh off the team's numerous **** ups by now though?


'We had fun. That's the only win you can truly have"

 

[thebigboy]

Interesting. Maybe he's learnt to laugh off the team's numerous * ups by now though?

View attachment 1606796
'We had fun. That's the only win you can truly have"

You'd hope so for his sake

 

[VelvetSledge]

 

[Beerfish]

Typical. Stands there striking a pose while the place burns. Is that captain material I ask you!

 

[The Dustbin]

Thank you Dys.

 

[dank420_]

onya doise

 

[AnGus BurgerFries]

Officially stood down as captain - please let this be the end of the easy pot-shots. He has genuinely tried his guts out despite the clusterf#ckeroos the last 10 years.

Hasn't been a perfect captain/player by any means, but seems like he put his heart into it when we didn't have any other options.

 

[eth-dog]

Cheers legend.

 

[Lore]

Heppell steps down as Essendon Captain​

After six seasons as Essendon’s courageous and committed on-field leader, Dyson Heppell has decided to step down as Captain. Heppell told teammates and coaches of his decision earlier today.

The 30-year-old midfielder is admired throughout the AFL community for his courage and work commitment. To the Essendon community, he is known as a dedicated club man and an inspiring leader whose selflessness is evident in his decision to hand over the captaincy.

Heppell was only 20 years old when he was first named in the Bombers’ 2013 leadership group. In 2016 he was appointed vice-captain, and in 2017, he succeeded Jobe Watson as Captain. Over the past six seasons he has led the club with excellence and sits alongside the great captains of the Bombers.

Heppell said it was a privilege to captain the club he grew up supporting.

“As a little tacker, playing AFL footy was a dream, let alone playing for the club I supported and then further to that, becoming the captain of that club,” Heppell said.

“Over the past six years, I had enormous pride and respect for my role as captain. Leadership can be a tough caper at times, but it has given me so much joy and has played a big part in my growth as a person, player and teammate.

“I owe an enormous amount of gratitude and thanks to the various players and playing groups, coaches, staff and Board members for backing me in over the years as well as our loyal fans and members.”

President Dave Barham thanked Heppell for his contribution over the past six years.

“Dyson Heppell is the ultimate team man. Not for the first time, Dyson has done what he thinks is in the best interest of the club and the team,” Barham said.

“On behalf of all supporters, thank you for your contribution as Captain of our club.

“We all look forward to the next part of your playing career and remain forever grateful for your outstanding contribution to this club.”

Senior coach Brad Scott commended Heppell’s selfless decision to step aside.

“Dyson has led the club through a difficult time in its long and proud history and has done so with great commitment,” Scott said.

“On behalf of the coaching staff and his fellow players, I thank him for his great service and look forward to working with him as an ongoing valuable contributor to the senior playing group.”

Essendon will announce their new captain and leadership group over the next week.

Essendon Longest-Serving Captains
Dick Reynolds – 224 Games
James Hird – 158 Games
Terry Daniher – 127 Games
Bill Hutchison – 121 Games
Jack Clarke – 121 Games
Dyson Heppell – 107 Games
Jobe Watson – 106 Games

I'm sure it'll go on the club website in due course, but that's from the email. Pity the graphic doesn't have at least one shot of him with the trademark shaggy mop of dreads...