Dyson Heppell will shoulder the responsibility of leading Essendon into the post-doping scandal era after the 24-year-old was confirmed by the AFL club as Jobe Watson’s successor as captain.
Watson, who along with Heppell and 32 other current and past Bombers served a ban last year for their part in the Essendon supplements scandal, passed on the baton to his former understudy at a meeting at the club’s Tullamarine training base on Wednesday.
Watson remains part of the seven-man leadership group announced for the 2017 season. Last year’s stand-in captain in the absence of that duo, Brendon Goddard, is also in the group, along with Michael Hurley and Joe Daniher.
Heppell’s fellow Crichton medallists, Cale Hooker and Zach Merrett, have been named vice-captains and complete the group.
Heppell, who said being handed the captaincy was a great honour, paid tribute to his predecessor.
“Jobe has been a tremendous captain of our club, he’s one of the great leaders of our game, and he’s been a wonderful mentor to me over the journey,” he said.
“While I inherit this enormous responsibility from Jobe, and acknowledge the great job BJ [Goddard] did as stand-in skipper last year, it’s important for me to be an authentic leader of the club and to develop my own leadership style.
“We have a fantastic leadership group which varies in age and experience, but I know we are all committed to driving this club to where we want to get to.”
Heppell, who has played 106 games since his senior debut in 2011, was vice-captain under Watson until the fallout from the club’s infamous supplements program took its toll, with 34 players receiving bans from the AFL.
The pair are two of 10 of those banned Bombers still at the club and eligible once again to play.
Watson handed back his 2012 Brownlow medal in November last year after the Court of Arbitration for Sport decided not to hear the players’ appeal against the AFL ban.
That decision in Switzerland effectively put an end to the saga, and Essendon will begin the 2017 campaign with a full roster after picking up last season’s wooden spoon with a much-weakened squad.
