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

 

[TurnOnTheBrightLights]

There is just no way that the senior players are judged by the same framework that our young players are.

Heppell still regularly makes what I perceive as simple mistakes/mental lapses when defending and doesn’t have the athleticism to be strong in the contest.

Obviously the likely explanation is that I’m just wrong and don’t understand the current AFL tactics.

I see the value, but only as someone with experience. If he plays more than 10 AFL games next year were in a bigger hole than I thought

 

[Milanista28]

Andrew McGrath completely destroyed a raging Charlie Cameron on his home deck. Dyson would lose a one on one battle with a deck chair at the moment.

Those deck chairs can be a handful, I'd back Charlie in the next meeting

 

[quotemokc]

OK...

Somebody whose job it is to ensure the coaches' structures and instructions are carried out on the field.

There's a hell of a lot happening on a footy field and players - particularly young players - have a habit of running around like headless chooks, chasing kicks or a single man, and not focusing on the right thing.

You need somebody who can quickly sum up the whole situation (usually at stoppage) and bark instructions at players to cover a hole or make an adjustment.

Pretty much precisely what we needed last year against Collingwood when they walked the length of the field in the last minute and Elliott kicked a goal to beat us after the siren.

We had a reasonable core of leaders in Heppell, Merrett, Goddard, Hooker and Hurley a few years back. The latter three have not been replaced as leaders - fours years on in Goddard's case. McGrath seems to show something, but it's a massive weakness of ours.

It should be expected that Ridley, Redman and to a lesser extent Kelly are experienced enough to tell players where to stand.

 

[ghostdog]

Agreed. The big issue I have too is the timing of this announcement.

The only message that should be coming out of the club this week should be remorse for last week's disgraceful effort and a desire to do their utmost to finish the season on a better note this Friday night.

Read the room!

You didnt like the announcement of the seatbelt jumper? I thought the irony was quite appropriate given the quality of the crash on its way.

 

[Getratugolea]

When was Heppell dropped?

Baldwin was dropped

 

[ant555]

It should be expected that Ridley, Redman and to a lesser extent Kelly are experienced enough to tell players where to stand.

Leaders are leaders. Not saying I agree with the decision but you can not just say this bloke or that bloke should be able to do it. Life does not work like that . Non leaders do not lead.

 

[jmoo wan]

there is something fundamentally wrong with our club if we need Heppell to be an on field leader of the back line because Ridley, Redman and Laverde are not up to it

 

[MightyDon]

Baldwin was dropped

I wasn’t asking what position Baldwin plays

 

[Getratugolea]

I wasn’t asking what position Baldwin plays

who's on first ?

 

[citizen-erased]

This is the explanation. No matter how bad we think Heppell is from the outside within the four walks he is rated by the coaches and the players.

Says more about the list in terms of leadership and afl standard players we have that we've extended him.

 

[jmoo wan]

Says more about the list in terms of leadership and afl standard players we have that we've extended him.

says a lot about the quality of the players who are rating him too - i mean look at who we have voted POTY on this board recently…

 

[DERO]

says a lot about the quality of the players who are rating him too - i mean look at who we have voted POTY on this board recently…

Beerfish I’m pretty sure he means me.

 

[Beerfish]

Beerfish I’m pretty sure he means me.

I just assumed eth-dog

 

[bombreys]

Says more about the list in terms of leadership and afl standard players we have that we've extended him.

Not always about the standard of players though.

Round 3:
Hep - 6 k, 10h, 5 clangers
Massimo - 17k, 10h, 3 clangers

You’ll never guess who was omitted

 

[ghostdog]

I've reached a decision.

Heppell was signed for another year because the leadership cupboard is still bare. Also, because we're gonna draft heaps. That's our strategy.

 

[BOMBERROB2000]

wow, I really thought we were moving forward as a club but signing this plodder for another season is a huge step backwards. he is too slow in all ways and makes too many errors at key moments in games and people can say all they want about his average possessions etc most of it is absolute junk just like his football.. we need to make serious cuts to our list but this one just shows you we are still in the same position of a once great club going nowhere fast....!!!

 

[nipst@r]

Same supporters who complain about lack of defensive effort and structure applaud signing on Heppell.

Gets cheap kicks, uses it poorly and is a liability defensively due to leg speed and his cooked body/agility.

What other clubs would have signed him up.

Gave it everything and might have had much better career in a team with bigger bodies and better leaders but when it's time it's time.

Will eek out another 10-15 games. Who else left from drug scandal needs a make up year still?

 

[citizen-erased]

says a lot about the quality of the players who are rating him too - i mean look at who we have voted POTY on this board recently…

I feel we at least have a better go and have far greater resilience.

Im not stepping into who the captain here is though

 

[citizen-erased]

I've reached a decision.

Heppell was signed for another year because the leadership cupboard is still bare. Also, because we're gonna draft heaps. That's our strategy.

One less spot to draft though now

Meanwhile port put their captain out to pasture as they approach a flag

 

[jmoo wan]

I feel we at least have a better go and have far greater resilience.

Im not stepping into who the captain here is though

 

[ghostdog]

One less spot to draft though now

Meanwhile port put their captain out to pasture as they approach a flag

Yep. I think he's the chosen one for his leadership for those we do draft.

Port? Why should we care about what Port do? We are Essendon and stuff like that.

 

[Alberto_Magnifico]

How many terabytes of Danks emails does this guy have

 

[Jobe Watson]

Gutless decision.

Sick of this club making terrible list management decisions based on supposed "leadership". Same dumb mindset that led us to drafting McGrath in the first place and keeping other clearly cooked older players for a year too long (Myers, Zaharakis). Heppell was out there on the weekend and we lost by 130 points with our defence getting absolutely pummelled - how valuable was his leadership then? Hep had the perfect chance to retire as a (rightly or wrongly) best 22 player and open up a spot for a younger player, with the respect of the fans intact. But no, selfishly holding on and depriving somebody else of an opportunity. So much for leadership.

 

[Milanista28]

He'll be aiming for 2025 as well

 

[Lore]

I wonder if stopping the pursuit of McKay means there’s a gap in the salary cap and we might be choosing to pay him as a player to work as a (playing-)coach?

Otherwise seems like a short-sighted decision.

Not buying the leadership angle anymore. The whole year was about developing leaders at the club and some have stepped up. At some point you gotta take the training wheels off and let them ride the damned bike.

Ditto developing the backline properly.

We could just as easily bring in a leader with some different experiences who is better equipped to play a role too, if we really think we need leadership. Keep Hepp as a coach and perhaps Bucks will pull on a jumper for 12 months