You would be hard-pressed to find many more teammates who have had a longer and stronger relationship than star Bombers Dylan Shiel and Devon Smith.

Having played on and off together since representing Victoria at under-12 level in 2005, the gun midfielders know each other intimately and they are now set to join forces once again in 2020 after being elevated into Essendon’s leadership group.

“Dev and I have been playing footy together since we were 12 years old, so we’ve become really close mates,” Shiel said on Tuesday.

“We were drafted to the Giants together, have been among the leadership group together at the Giants and now we find ourselves at Bomberland and in the leadership group again together.”

Their elevation comes off the back of two mightily impressive starts in the red and black.

Smith’s influence upon his arrival at The Hangar was immediate, with the former Giant exploding onto the scene to take home the Crichton Medal as the club’s best and fairest player in his first season as a Bomber in 2018.

Shiel then backed it up, living up to high expectations to lead the club for clearances and metres gained, and claim career-high season averages for tackles and inside 50s last year to finish second in the Crichton Medal count.

Shiel says Smith’s on-field leadership is what sets the tough onballer apart from many others, with his fierce competitiveness and aggressive style providing no shortage of inspiration for his fellow Bombers.

And while Smith was still able to lead strongly from the sidelines for most of last year when restricted to just seven games due to injury, Shiel is thrilled to have his fit-again friend back on the ground in 2020 and is confident he will thrive in the role.

“I’m really excited to have Devon on the track, he’s been a really strong performer throughout the pre-season.

“He’s probably been the best performer all summer, which is exciting because we know what he is capable of (following his season) in 2018.

“We’re looking to see him bring that in 2020 and in terms of his leadership style and what he brings to the table, he’s just a super competitor, which I’m sure the Essendon fans and people who watch footy know.

“His attack on the man and attack on the footy is first class, and just that in itself inspires his teammates to do the same.

“He’s actually been really influential off the field as well and he’s a great person and friend for me to be able to talk to about things in footy and life as well.”

Joining the close friends in the leadership group alongside captain Dyson Heppell are experienced Dons Michael Hurley and David Zaharakis, who have both had previous stints in the group.

Shiel was full of praise for the respected duo and said they will add plenty of value to the leading brigade.

“Michael and David have been here for a long time now and in terms of the players and the history of the club, they’re really a part of the fabric of Essendon.

“I think it’s really good acknowledgement for those guys that they are the heart of the footy club, they’ve been here for a long time, they’ve seen the ups and downs and they’ve been incredibly resilient.

“That resilience has shown and it’s something that I’ve looked up to since arriving at the club, the way David and Michael go about their footy and handle week-to-week decision making and difficulties.

“They’re going to add value to the leadership group that myself, Devon and Dys aren’t going to be able to add – we’re all there to complement each other and lead as one group.”

The Bombers are set to make their long-awaited return to the field when they take on West Coast on February 27 in the Marsh Community Series.