THE Essendon Football Club has announced that Dyson Heppell has agreed to a two year contract extension with the club.
Heppell, 20, won the Ron Evans Medal in 2011 as the NAB Rising Star award winner for that season and has been a star midfielder for the Bombers ever since they selected him with the 8th pick of the 2010 National Draft.
His new contract will see Heppell remain with the Bombers until at least the end of the 2015 season.
“Dyson is a quality young man, he’s a smart footballer and I have no doubt he could be the next leader of the football club,” said Essendon list manager Adrian Dodoro.
“To have Jake Carlisle and now Dyson re-sign, two great young talents, it just reinforces the positive direction our football club is heading in.”
For his part, Heppell is doubtlessly excited at the prospects of extending his career with the club that drafted him.
“I’m really excited to sign a new two-year deal with Essendon, it’s great for me and my family and I’m really looking forward to a bright future at Essendon,” said Heppell in this weeks episode of The Hangar.
“The club has been fantastic to me, I’ve made some great friends over the journey so far and the coaches have been outstanding so I couldn’t ask for anything more.
“We’re certainly heading in a great direction, the game-plan we have in place is really good and it’s going to make us competitive long into the season and hopefully finals.”
Senior coach James Hird believes that Heppell, just 48 games into his AFL career, has the ability to be one of the club’s great players.
“It’s fantastic news,” said Hird.
“He’s had two good years of football and he’s set to be a champion of Essendon, if he’s diligent about the way he trains, diligent about his preparation and an excellent competitor on the field.
“Dyson is a natural leader. He puts a bit of pressure on himself, which is good to an extent, but the way in which he’s lead both the younger and senior guys is terrific and his move into the midfield this season has been outstanding.”
Essendon will Geelong this Friday night at Etihad Stadium in the battle of the last remaining undefeated teams for the season in what promises to be an epic battle.