Dyson Heppell was named Essendon Captain for the 2017 season.

Here is the moment Jobe Watson passed the baton to his teammate.

Heppell told Bomber TV he's ready for the challenge and relived the moments immediately after John Worsfold asked him to take on the captaincy.

He's won a Crichton Medal and been named in the All-Australian side ... hopefully one day we'll be talking about him in the same breath as these great Essendon Captains.

Vice-Captains Cale Hooker and Zach Merrett headline the rest of the Leadership Group.

Hooker is keen to drive the culture of the Club and has been impressed by the level of hunger throughout the playing group.

While Merrett is well positioned for his new role after captaining the side late last season.

The Bombers begin their JLT Community Series on Thursday night against Collingwood and in the lead-up had a final intra-club hit-out.

The match was broadcast live on essendonfc.com.au.  The full replay (part one, part two, part three, part four), including all the commentary and special guests, is available if you missed the livestream as well as the highlights.

An injury to Aaron Francis was the only negative to come out of the game.  High Performance Manager Justin Crow will provide a further update this week.

Unlike last summer Mason Redman has had an injury free run.  He spoke about his pre-season and Kyle Langford also provided an update on how he's tracking leading into his third AFL season.

Off the field, Family Day will be held this Sunday and tickets are selling fast for the Season Launch.

Stay across essendonfc.com.au this week as the games begin.