Essendon veteran Dyson Heppell has announced his retirement after a 14-year, 250-game career. The former Bombers skipper, 32, has been an All-Australian, Rising Star and Essendon best-and-fairest winner and will hang up the boots at the end of the season. Dyson Heppell celebrated his 250th game earlier this year.
Credit: Getty Images “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.” Heppell, who was taken with pick eight in the 2010 draft, was one of the Essendon players who was suspended for the 2016 season over the drugs saga. He became captain in 2017 upon his return, and remained skipper until handing the reins to Zach Merrett in 2022, and turned down offers from other clubs, including Gold Coast in that year, to stay a one-club player.
Club president David Barham paid tribute to Heppell, whom he described as an incredible leader of the Bombers. “[He] 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.
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