Essendon champion Dyson Heppell has called time on his 14-year AFL career.
After recently becoming the 15th player in club history to play 250 games, Heppell will make 2024 his final swansong.
The 32-year-old leaves the game having secured some of its most illustrious awards, including an All-Australian, AFL Rising Star award and Essendon’s Crichton Medal, but also being regarded as one of the most universally loved players to play it.
Reflecting on his decision to retire at the end of Essendon’s season, Heppell is proud to have given so much throughout his AFL career.
“At the seasons end I’ll be hanging up the boots. I’ve been wrestling with the decision for a number of weeks and it’s a decision that certainly hasn’t come lightly or been an easy one but one that I’m super content with,” Heppell said.
“In my own mind I always wanted to call it a day while I was still playing decent footy and that if it got to a point where we’ve got other boys primed and ready to play my role then I know it’s time. No doubt there’s a little competitive dog part of me that’s in my ear telling me to go one more but after considering all possibilities and having the opportunity to go out on my own terms it just feels like the right call.
“Once it’s all said and done if I’ve managed to have a positive impact on my teammates, coaches, staff and the broader club and hopefully I’ve inspired some little tackers to chase their dreams along the way then I say a job well done and if that’s my success, I’ll take it.
“The beauty about this game and this club is that it provides opportunities to meet some incredible people that I’ve fostered great friendships with over the years. There’s too many to name but I will get to you all in time to say a massive thanks for the impact you’ve had on me.
“They all say it, but it does go bloody fast. I’m envious of our young boys embarking on your careers. I’d go back there and do it all again if I could. I’m so happy with where the club is at and the culture that we’re building and the bold possibility that we have set, and I wish for nothing more than to see this group strive towards that possibility. Let’s tear in for whatever is left for us this year. I love you all - up the Dons!”
Originally selected with pick No.8 in the 2010 National Draft, the boyhood Bomber squeezed every bit out of his career in the red and black.
A revelation from the get-go, the Gippsland Power product played 23 out of a possible 24 games in his first season to unanimously win Essendon’s first-ever AFL Rising Star Award and AFLPA Best First-Year Player Award.
Heppell’s second year proved the Bombers had a special player on their hands, claiming Runner-up in the club’s Crichton Medal count and wining the AFLCA’s Best Young Player Award.
After another top three finish in the Crichton Medal in 2013, Heppell soared to new heights in 2014 by claiming an All-Australian award and a Crichton Medal.
President Dave Barham paid tribute to one of the most widely regarded figures in the AFL.
“Dyson has been an incredible leader of the Essendon Football Club and will always be remembered as an Essendon champion,” Barham said.
“He is an Essendon person through and through and has committed his adult life to this football club, our people and all our members and supporters. He leaves an incredible legacy on this club, and we are indebted to him for his strength, resilience, and leadership during his career at the Bombers. The No.21 at Essendon will be synonymous with Dyson Heppell.
"We thank Dyson, his fiancé Kate and his parents, Ann-Maree and Paul, for all they’ve given to the Essendon Football Club.”
While Heppell’s individual accolades on-field were building, it would be his off-field actions which elevated his standing at the Bombers to a new level.
A pillar of strength and loyalty through one of the darker periods in Essendon’s history, Heppell was rewarded with becoming Essendon’s 40th Captain in 2017, succeeding club champion Jobe Watson.
Heppell continued to lead and inspire as the club rebuilt, claiming another Runner-up in 2018’s Crichton Medal count.
Essendon CEO Craig Vozzo congratulated Dyson on his career.
“I have always greatly admired from afar what Dyson has done on field, but it has been a real privilege to watch him close up over the past two seasons and observe the enormous respect he has right across the club and AFL community, because of the uniquely wonderful person he is,” Vozzo said.
“Dyson will always be an Essendon great, and we are incredibly thankful for his efforts, loyalty and leadership throughout a wonderful career.”
Heppell will also be known for his impact beyond the field, most notably for the special relationship he’s fostered with Scleroderma patient and his best mate, Harrison Pennicott – with Heppell’s giving nature a champion to children battling serious illnesses.
In the latter years of his career, Heppell’s leadership has been pivotal to the growth and stability of Essendon’s playing group, with his 107 games of Captaincy highly regarded internally during some of the club’s most challenging times.
After handing the baton over to current Captain Zach Merrett in 2022, Heppell reached the significant 250-game milestone in round 16 against Geelong this year, cementing his spot as one of Essendon’s most-loved players.
Dyson Heppell's achievements
- All Australian: 2014
- AFL Rising Star: 2011
- Crichton Medal: 2014
- Crichton Medal Runner-up: 2012, 2018
- Crichton Medal Third Place: 2013, 2015, 2017
- Essendon Captain: 2017-2022
- Essendon Life Member: 2018
- AFLCA Best Young Player of the Year: 2012
- AFLPA Best First Year Player: 2011
- AFLPA 22under22 Team: 2012, 2013, 2014
- Bruce Heymanson Best Clubman: 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017
- Adam Ramanauskas Most Courageous Player: 2021
