Joe Daniher says the return of role models like Jobe Watson will only enhance the Club’s culture.

The Bombers welcomed their returning stars back to the track this week as they joined the Club’s first to fourth year players in officially kicking off the pre-season.

Watson announced on Friday his intention to hand back the 2012 Brownlow Medal ahead of the AFL’s Commission meeting on Tuesday.

“It has never been a question of Jobe’s integrity or the way he goes about being an AFL footballer and role model for the community,” Daniher told Triple M.

“For me, I consider myself a relatively young player at our Club and to have a role model like that as a resource every day is a fantastic thing for the younger people at our football Club.

“We’ve got so many young people at the moment, it’s just going to help turn them into better people and hopefully better players.

“To have people like Jobe, like Brent Stanton, like Dyson Heppell, Michael Hurley – it just helps build a really strong culture and that’s what we’re looking to do over the coming years.”

Daniher said the events of recent seasons would only make the Club stronger.

“Whenever you go through something like this as a footy Club you’ve always got 40 of your best mates to lean on,” he said.

“It’s going to be something that’s going to hold us in good stead, whether it be on-field or off-field as people.  You get put through difficult scenarios and you come out a better person.

“The mindset the guys are having is to use it as a growing tool and hopefully moving forward that helps us on the field.”

It’ll be another week until the remainder of the Essendon squad joins in the pre-season, but given the exciting young talent in training at the moment, together with the enthusiasm of the returning players, Daniher has noticed a buoyant mood.

“It’s an exciting time – it’s obviously been a long time since we’ve had the whole group back together,” he said.

“To have the ten guys back training at the Club – it’s a really enjoyable vibe at the moment.”