Three Essendon players made the final cut in the always-controversial Mike Sheehan Top 50 list revealed on Thursday.
Dyson Heppell, Cale Hooker and Brendon Goddard all made Mike’s prestigious list on the back of consistent and impressive performances in 2014.
Backing up from his win at the Crichton Medal, Heppell was named in the top ten for the first time in his carreer, coming in at ninth.
Sheehan described Heppell as a “genuine young star” who demonstrated in 2014 that he was more than capable to mix it with the best in the AFL.
“[He] has an amazing capacity to get where the loose ball bobs up” said Sheehan, “Classy, brave and durable.”
Defender Cale Hooker also received great praise from Sheehan, who highlighted his vast improvement describing him as, a “…high class player in his own right.”
All three players finished as the top three in this year’s Crichton Medal announced at Crown Palladium on Wednesday evening.
Full List
1. Joel Selwood (Geelong)
2. Nathan Fyfe (Fremantle)
3. Lance Franklin (Sydney)
4. Robbie Gray (Port Adelaide)
5. Gary Ablett (Gold Coast)
6. Josh Kennedy (Sydney)
7. Jordan Lewis (Hawthorn)
8. Jarryd Roughead (Hawthorn)
9. Dyson Heppell (Essendon)
10. Travis Boak (Port Adelaide)
11. Scott Pendlebury (Collingwood)
12. Eric Mackenzie (West Coast)
13. Luke Hodge (Hawthorn)
14. Luke Parker (Sydney)
15. Matt Priddis (West Coast)
16. Aaron Sandilands (Fremantle)
17. Sam Mitchell (Hawthorn)
18. Shaun Burgoyne (Hawthorn)
19. Rory Sloane (Adelaide)
20. Tom Rockliff (Brisbane)
21. Luke Breust (Hawthorn)
22. Shane Mumford (GWS)
23. Patrick Dangerfield (Adelaide)
24. Callan Ward (GWS)
25. Pearce Hanley (Brisbane)
26. Nick Malceski (Sydney)
27. Bryce Gibbs (Carlton)
28. Daniel Talia (Adelaide)
29. Cale Hooker (Essendon)
30. Matthew Broadbent (Port Adelaide)
31. Nick Riewoldt (St Kilda)
32. Alex Rance (Richmond)
33. Dayne Beams (Collingwood)
34. Dustin Martin (Richmond)
35. Tom Hawkins (Geelong)
36. David Mundy (Fremantle)
37. Brodie Smith (Adelaide)
38. Grant Birchall (Hawthorn)
39. Nick Smith (Sydney)
40. Brendon Goddard (Essendon)
41. Trent Cotchin (Richmond)
42. Tom Liberatore (Western Bulldogs)
43. Nathan Jones (Melbourne)
44. Ben Cunnington (North Melbourne)
45. David Swallow (Gold Coast)
46. Brent Harvey (North Melbourne)
47. Sam Jacobs (Adelaide)
48. Hayden Ballantyne (Fremantle)
49. Nick Dal Santo (North Melbourne)
50. Robert Murphy (Western Bulldogs)
