Dyson Heppell

Dyson Heppell

Heppell (left) and Jake Carlisle
Personal information
Full name Dyson Heppell
Date of birth (1992-05-14) 14 May 1992
Original team(s) Leongatha, Gippsland Power
Draft No. 8, 2010 National Draft
Height/Weight 189 cm / 81 kg
Position(s) Midfielder
Club information
Current club Essendon
Number 21
Playing career
Years Club Games (Goals)
2011–present Essendon 106 (33)
International team honours
Years Team Games (Goals)
2015–present Australia 1 (0)
Career highlights

Dyson Heppell (born 14 May 1992) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Early life

Heppell began playing football with Leongatha Football Club,[1] and played for Gippsland Power in the TAC Cup for the 2009 and 2010 seasons.[2] Named as Gippsland's captain for the 2010 season,[3] Heppell also played for the Victorian Country side at the 2010 AFL Under 18 Championships, where he was named in the All-Australian team.[4] At 189 cm,[2] he played as a "line-breaking defender"[3] for the first half of the 2010 season, before moving into the midfield for the second half of the season.[3]

Heppell finished strongly in the Morrish Medal count, which is awarded to the best and fairest player in the TAC Cup regular season, eventually tying for the award with Jackson Sketcher of the Sandringham Dragons, after achieving the maximum votes possible from rounds 13 to 17.[5] Despite finishing the regular season in sixth place on the ladder, both Gippsland and Heppell had a good finals series. He accumulated 36 disposals in an elimination final victory and was named best on ground in the preliminary final win to qualify for the TAC Cup Grand Final.[6] In a stark contrast to the rest of his season, Heppell had a relatively poor game in the grand final, gathering only 20 touches, as the Power were outclassed by the Calder Cannons by 56 points.[7]

AFL career

Despite his performance in the grand final, Heppell was an impressive performer at the AFL Draft Camp,[8] and was touted by many as being a potential top five draft pick in the 2010 National Draft,[9] with some even claiming he could go as high as top three.[6] Most speculation suggested that the Brisbane Lions would select Heppell with pick five,[9] who with his "silky"[4] skills and raking left foot, modelled his style on the Lions' own Josh Drummond.[2]

In the week before the draft, however, a rumour, which Heppell denied, began circulating that he was suffering from groin problems.[9] Due to this, Essendon, which had the eighth selection, became interested that he might fall to their pick, and Heppell spoke to newly appointed coach, James Hird, days before the draft.[4] Hird, who said he had been interested in Heppell for months, believed that Heppell would be selected well before Essendon had the chance to draft him, but when Heppell did slide back due to the groin concerns, Essendon selected him ahead of midfielders Dion Prestia and Shaun Atley. Heppell, who supported the Bombers as a child and had "idolised" Hird while growing up, said that getting drafted by Essendon was "like a dream".[4]

Heppell received the first Rising Star nomination for 2011 after recording 20 possessions in his debut AFL match, against the Western Bulldogs in round 1.[1] In his first season, he played every match of the home and away season and was described as a major contributor in helping Essendon make the finals. Throughout the year, and leading into the vote count, Heppell was widely considered to be the favourite for the Ron Evans Medal, awarded to the rising star of each season.[10] He won the medal, polling 44 of a possible 45 votes and became the first Essendon player to win the award. Heppell described winning the award as "a dream come true".[11][12]

He continued his ascent as an emerging star by finishing third in the W. S. Crichton Medal count, Essendon's best and fairest award; his second consecutive top-three placing. Having played his first two seasons largely off half-back, Heppell moved into a ball-winning role in the midfield in 2013, averaging 24 disposals for the season. He polled three Brownlow Medal votes for his 36-possession and two-goal effort against Melbourne in round 2 and was one of the best players in the comeback win over Carlton in round 11.

Heppell continued on his upward climb throughout the 2014 season; he was selected in the All-Australian team and won his first W. S. Crichton Medal.[13] He established himself as one of the best young midfielders in the league and was considered to be in contention for the 2014 Brownlow Medal, polling 14 votes.

On 12 January 2016 Heppell was named as one of 34 past and present Essendon players found guilty over their use of illegal supplements during the 2012 AFL season. As a result, Heppell was suspended for twelve months, effective from November 2015, meaning he will miss the entire 2016 AFL season.[14]

Statistics

Statistics are correct to the end of the 2015 season.[15]
Legend
 G  Goals  B  Behinds  K  Kicks  H  Handballs  D  Disposals  M  Marks  T  Tackles
Season Team # Games G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
Totals Averages (per game)
2011 Essendon 21 23 3 4 262 231 493 132 63 0.1 0.2 11.4 10.0 21.4 5.7 2.7
2012 Essendon 21 20 3 3 250 180 430 113 59 0.2 0.2 12.5 9.0 21.5 5.6 3.0
2013 Essendon 21 19 8 11 269 192 461 88 74 0.4 0.6 14.2 10.1 24.3 4.6 3.9
2014 Essendon 21 22 6 6 332 294 626 116 99 0.3 0.3 15.1 13.4 28.4 5.3 4.5
2015 Essendon 21 22 13 8 304 262 566 87 105 0.6 0.4 13.8 11.9 25.7 4.0 4.8
Career 106 33 32 1417 1159 2576 536 400 0.3 0.3 13.4 10.9 24.3 5.1 3.8

References

  1. 1 2 "Dyson Heppell wins Round 1 Rising Star nomination". Essendon Football Club. 29 March 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  2. 1 2 3 Quayle, Emma (17 November 2010). "Picks of the draft: Dyson Heppell". The Age. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
  3. 1 2 3 Ralph, Jon (20 November 2010). "Dons picked middle man Dyson Heppell". Herald Sun. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Gullan, Scott (18 November 2010). "Dream comes true for Bomber fan Dyson Heppell in AFL national draft". Herald Sun. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
  5. ↑ "Dyson Heppell wins Morrish Medal". Sporting Pulse. 6 September 2010. Archived from the original on 18 June 2015. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
  6. 1 2 Diamond, Brent (12 September 2010). "Heppell shaping as high draft pick". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
  7. ↑ McNicol, Adam (19 September 2010). "Wallis impresses with 47-touch final". Australian Football League. Archived from the original on 6 October 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
  8. ↑ McNicol, Adam (2 November 2010). "Heppell's hands fastest". Australian Football League. Archived from the original on 2 November 2010. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
  9. 1 2 3 Clark, Jay (17 November 2010). "Scans spark draft doubt for Dyson Heppell". Herald Sun. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
  10. ↑ Sheahan, Mike; Robinson, Mark; Clark, Jay (7 September 2011). "Dyson Heppell tipped to win the AFL's NAB Rising Star Award". Herald Sun. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  11. ↑ Bradshaw, Finn (7 September 2011). "Essendon Bombers Dyson Heppell wins Rising Star". Herald Sun. Australian Associated Press. Retrieved 7 September 2011.
  12. ↑ "Dyson Heppell wins 2011 AFL Rising Star Award". Essendon Football Club. 7 September 2011. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  13. ↑ "Dyson Heppell wins Crichton Medal, Essendon's best and fairest award". The Age. Retrieved 4 August 2015.
  14. ↑ Travis King (12 January 2016). "Guilty: court bans the Essendon 34 for 2016". Australian Football League. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  15. ↑ Dyson Heppell's player profile at AFL Tables

External links

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