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

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Contract Status: Unrestricted Free Agent 2024
My Boy Draft 2024: Pick 27, Highly Evolved
 
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yaco55 said:
I actually think that his kicking is good without being great.

Can deliver well when in space, but his kicks tend to loop and hang in the air.
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To an extent I agree. However what is he to do when the players upfield stand there like seagulls. It is up to them to give him options, an elite kick of the ball is only as good as their support players. The one thing that annoyed me was the fact that this side became tired and lazy, as a result players like Heppell were forced to kick to contests time and time again.
 
I was thoroughly impressed with the year Heppell had considering it's almost a unanimous belief that the second year is often far tougher and more difficult than the first for all young players. When you first come onto the scene, there's hardly any expectation placed upon you and the opposition don't put as much time, work and effort into negating your performances.

At the beginning of the year he was playing that sweeping role in defense that he became so accustomed to in his debut season, but because he performed that very role so admirably and to such damaging effect six-twelve months earlier, opposition coaches gave him an enormous compliment by attempting to shut him out of the contest and rough him up physically at every opportunity. It took him a few games to adapt to this new tactic, but eventually he overcame it and was still regularly within our top five disposal gathers on the ground even against the very finest of opponents.

I think as the year went on, the coaches elected to give him an alternate role for portions of the game. There were quarters where he was noticeably given license to push up and roam around the wings, and he played some good football in that position too. Yet, by this time our midfield and our season was starting to fall apart on a tremendous scale and this consequently forced Heppell to enter the primary midfield rotation. What we have to remember is this is a kid who, at the time, had only played probably thirty games of senior football. Fantastic, high quality football it undoubtedly had been to that point, but suddenly he's thrust into the midfield against bigger and more experienced bodies, and players who have partaken in numerous more pre-season regimes than Heppell has completed. He didn't have the aerobic capacity, he didn't have the experience, and probably more tellingly than anything else, he didn't have adequate assistance in terms of personnel to give him that block, that little shepherd and an extra moment of time and space that a young guy so desperately needs in congestion.

Despite the aforementioned, he showed signs. Not just faint signs, but signs complete with illuminative neon lights that flash many different colours and say, "I'm going to be a star of the Essendon Football Club". There was talk of him maybe being a little soft due to his light frame, but that mark he took against Sydney was so courageous, and countless times when the ball was there to be won in the middle, it was often Heppell who was unafraid to possess the ball and allow himself to be buried into the ground just to stop an opposition clearance. That last point may not sound like a big deal, but I lost count at the number of times it looked like there was going to be an easy clearance for our opponents, only to then see Heppell somehow be first to the ball and allow himself to be wrapped up in a hard tackle to give Bellchambers and the rest of our midfields another opportunity to send the ball going our way. He knows how to read the taps and that's a big asset.

He tired towards the end of the year and that's to be expected when you've got a second year kid spending the majority of his time competing in the middle. It looked like he lost a yard of pace, and it wouldn't surprise me if that was a result of niggling injuries that he chose to play through. He still needs to work harder defensively, his tackling technique has to improve dramatically but that will come when he's able to build and utilize his strength, I'd like to see him at least develop his non-preferred side into something resembling serviceable, but I think he'll be one of those players who won't have to use it regularly such is his poise and ability to read the play. Overall, I am so delighted and ecstatic that he's ours. I know I felt like doing cartwheels the moment we called his name out on draft day, and currently I feel like doing more cartwheels knowing he's well on his way to becoming a wonderful player for us over the next decade.
 

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Love the kid. As is the general consensus, was great to see him win his own ball consistently in 2012. That courageous mark against Sydney was one of my favourite moments of the season.
 
Charliebrow 16 said:
Overall, I am so delighted and ecstatic that he's ours. I know I felt like doing cartwheels the moment we called his name out on draft day, and currently I feel like doing more cartwheels knowing he's well on his way to becoming a wonderful player for us over the next decade.
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Nice attitude and assessment:thumbsu:

He is a poised player, and hopefully with the coaching of the man himself, can become something of J.Hird for us.
 
I reckon he's absolutely brilliant and he really has made a massive impact in the short time he's been at Essendon. Yes his defensive side needs to improve, but I'd rather a player that has the offense, the ability to make good decisions, find the ball and use it well and needs to learn the defense/improve his endurance/strength than the other way round. Also his consistency week in week out, is very impressive for such a young player. He never seems to put in real stinkers and still contributes even on his down days. We need more blokes that can perform week to week not just when the mood, the situation suits them. Heppell will be a star for us, maybe not next year, maybe not even the year after but I have no doubt in a few years he will be averaging over 25 possessions a game (not a big leap for him) and just be the complete package.
 
Has done remarkably well considering everyone around him has been dropping off like flies... shows great resilience to an extremely tough fitness regime, especially for only a second year player, and will only be better off for it.
 
bombersno1 said:
There are PLENTY of players (elite ones) that don't use both feet, heck you can probably count the number of times Pendelbury uses his right on one hand. Heppell is fine, his kicking is elite but it is up to others to provide options to kick to!
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I don't class elite players as players that cannot kick both feet. You need to be able to at least put it on the opposite foot in a jam, and so far heppel has done that a grand total of once this year. I'm not saying he wont be a good player, but he could be so much better if he had more than one move, which many people cottoned onto this year which is why some people saw his output drop.

To be clear though, not bagging him, love the guy, but everyone already knows his strengths, have to mention his weaknesses too.
 
Mercurial89 said:
I don't class elite players as players that cannot kick both feet. You need to be able to at least put it on the opposite foot in a jam, and so far heppel has done that a grand total of once this year. I'm not saying he wont be a good player, but he could be so much better if he had more than one move, which many people cottoned onto this year which is why some people saw his output drop.

To be clear though, not bagging him, love the guy, but everyone already knows his strengths, have to mention his weaknesses too.
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So you don't think Pendelbury is elite then? He is just as 'left-foot centric' as Dyson. Lets not forget Heppell only has started playing in the midfield, if you are playing on the HBF 99% of the time you use your preferred foot!
 
i don't see pendles use the same move all the time, he can also shrug tackles etc so it may be easier for him. Like i said im not bagging heppel i understand he is a 2nd year player, but i would HOPE that one of the things he works on is to get good with the other foot. Why settle for only having one foot? The truly elite players, for instance ablett, can use both feet. Why does heppel only have to use his left?

Why cant that be a criticism of him?
 
Mercurial89 said:
i don't see pendles use the same move all the time, he can also shrug tackles etc so it may be easier for him. Like i said im not bagging heppel i understand he is a 2nd year player, but i would HOPE that one of the things he works on is to get good with the other foot. Why settle for only having one foot? The truly elite players, for instance ablett, can use both feet. Why does heppel only have to use his left?

Why cant that be a criticism of him?
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There are other elite players that only really use one foot, being dual sided is great, but it doesn't mean you can't be elite with one foot. If you were talking about his decision making fin, but being a natural left footer will not prevent him being elite. Ablett and Cotchin are probably the ONLY two that are elite dual sided players....are there only 2 elite players now?
 
bombersno1 said:
There are other elite players that only really use one foot, being dual sided is great, but it doesn't mean you can't be elite with one foot. If you were talking about his decision making fin, but being a natural left footer will not prevent him being elite. Ablett and Cotchin are probably the ONLY two that are elite dual sided players....are there only 2 elite players now?
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What? S.Mitchell and Scotland would be the best dual sided players
 

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#21: Dyson Heppell - What to expect next year?
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Keystone agony said:
What? S.Mitchell and Scotland would be the best dual sided players
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Mitchell yes, Scotland are you serious, he is good but is is not elite dual sided. This is my point there is probably 3 or 4 dual sided elite players, they are so rare.
 
bombersno1 said:
Mitchell yes, Scotland are you serious, he is good but is is not elite dual sided. This is my point there is probably 3 or 4 dual sided elite players, they are so rare.
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Scotland is equally as good with both feet.

Deledio is good with both feet.

The prince of dual sided-ness was Darren Jarman.

Dougie Hawkins was very good.
 
yaco55 said:
Scotland is equally as good with both feet.

Deledio is good with both feet.

The prince of dual sided-ness was Darren Jarman.

Dougie Hawkins was very good.
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Johnny Barnes. Farkin ledge.

Dean Cox too. Simon Black. Then again, don't think I've seen Jobe use his left in his life, but he can.
 
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Retired #21: Dyson Heppell - Goodnight, sweet prince. What a legend! 🤙 - 24/8

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