Matthew Leuenberger has heaped praise on Essendon’s “really exciting” playing group after announcing his retirement from the club.

The ruckman said there are many reasons to suggest why Essendon may have become a ‘destination club’ in light of the recent recruitment of Dylan Shiel in the NAB AFL Trade Period following last year’s addition of key trio Devon Smith, Adam Saad and Jake Stringer.

“The young guys are super talented, they’re extremely hungry, they know what they want and they know how to get there, and they’ve got the right people there helping them to do that,” Leuenberger said on SEN on Thursday.

“Essendon is just so big – you get the chance to play on ANZAC Day and things like that.

“The list, the way it’s shaping and looking, it’d be pretty exciting to see the whole Bomber army get up and going.

“It’s exciting times for the footy club.”

Leuenberger admitted he didn’t think he had enough left in the tank to push through another year of top-level football, instead putting his teammates ahead of himself despite having a contract offer on the table.

“I thought it would have been selfish of me to take the contract and deny someone else an opportunity, so that’s how I came to my conclusion.”

The 30-year-old arrived at Essendon in 2016 after playing 108 games for Brisbane and was immediately swept up by the size of the club.

Among his 29 games for the Bombers were several huge blockbuster clashes including two ANZAC Day matches, which he said he will always look back on fondly.

“There’s 90 thousand (people) at the MCG and you have The Last Post and it’s dead silent and you’re standing in the middle of it, it’s something I don’t think I’ll ever forget.

“It’s a very eerie feeling, you can’t help but have goosebumps in the moment.

“Taking the time to think back on the footy journey, it’s definitely a highlight to have taken part in those games.”

Listen to Leuenberger’s full interview below.