Dyson Heppell has thrown his support behind the injured Jobe Watson to return as the team’s captain in 2016.

Speaking at Wednesday’s Crichton Medal Heppell said that, although he enjoyed his time as captain, he was looking forward to Watson returning to the top job next season. 

Heppell took over the captaincy in round 15 after Watson was ruled out for the season with a shoulder injury. 

“As a whole I really did enjoy that role, and I felt I developed a lot in my leadership throughout the course of the second half of the season,” said Heppell

“It certainly gives me a greater appreciation of the work that Jobe has done over the last few years.

"It’s certainly not an easy role.”

Watson took over the captaincy from Matthew Lloyd at the end of the 2009 season and has lead the club through difficult times.

The leadership of Watson has been widely recognised by both his teammates, coaches and the wider AFL community - with the 30-year-old awarded the AFL Players Association 'Best Captain Award' in 2012.

Despite speculation, Heppell was clear that he would not be retaining the captaincy in 2016 once Watson returned - believing that he still had much to learn when it came to leadership from both the current captain and others in the team.

“I still feel like I’ve got a lot of development left in my leadership I think Jobe will be the man to do it again next year and I’ll learn as I can off him again,” said Heppell

“We’ve got a lot of other fantastic leaders at the club and we’ve got a lot of brilliant young guys coming through as well that are showing real leadership potential.”