Dyson HEPPELL

2017 Digest:   New skipper hasn’t missed a beat over summer and primed to lead from the front. Big year expected.

2017 NAB Cup:  

2017 Season

1	Haw	Came to the fore when his team needed him most. 34 touches and three massive goals were crucial in the win.	9
2	Bris	Lined-up on Rockliff and, while a bit slow to start, wound it up a cog when the Lions returned fire.	7
3	Carl	One of few Bombers who was able to find some space and bring others into game. Did appear to tire late but among best.	8
4	Adel	Quiet game by his lofty standards, well down the pecking order in the Bombers midfield.	5
5	Coll	11 disposals in first term indicated his determination. Solid in the midfield.	7
6	Melb	22 possessions and didn’t have normal influence in midfield. Looked heavy-legged, but wasn’t the only one.	5
7	Frem	One of Essendon’s best. Had four clearances and one goal among 23 disposals.	7
8	Geel	Skipper racked up 30 disposals (17 contested), six clearances and five tackles to be a driver all night.	7
9	WCE	Didn’t always use the ball as well as he can, but was a good contributor in midfield.	7
10	Rich	Hard running engine room cog had seven clearances, 11 contested possessions and six tackles.	7
11	GWS	Okay without starring in midfield hustle and bustle. Won most of his touches in close.	6
12	Port	Strong ball winner throughout in the middle. Part of a dominant Bomber midfield.	7
13		Bye.
14	Syd	Just eight first-half touches in duel with Kennedy. Slightly better second half but made some errors.	6
15	Bris	Plenty of clearances and disposals first half. Tapered towards the end.	6
16	Coll	Skipper quietly went about topping 30 touches and had 10 score involvements. Did his bit in the engine room.	8
17	StK	Spiked Ross's guns in first half and used ball well. Spectacular pass to Daniher a gem.	7
18	NM	Used the ball well. 26 disposals, seven clearances and finished his work with two goals.	7
19	WB	29 touches, but kicking lacked some penetration and wasn’t always sure-handed.	6
20	Carl	Skipper worked his rear end off with 34 disposals, six clearances, four inside-50s and six tackles.	8
21	Adel	Busy around the ground in first half and had a solid game overall..	6
22	GCS	Solid effort from the skipper, with six clearances and 24 possessions along with a goal.	7
23	Frem	Got his hands on the ball enough in midfield to have an impact. Five clearances.	7
EF	Syd	Skipper grabbed 21 possessions but that was misleading given his impact wasn’t great.	5

2016 Season

1		Suspended.
2		Suspended.
3		Suspended.
4		Suspended.
5		Suspended.
6		Suspended.
7		Suspended.
8		Suspended.
9		Suspended.
10		Suspended.
11		Suspended.
12		Suspended.
13		Suspended.
14		Suspended.
16		Suspended.
17		Suspended.
18		Suspended.
19		Suspended.
20		Suspended.
21		Suspended.
22		Suspended.
23		Suspended.

2015 Season

1	Syd	Underdone because of pre-season injury but battled hard.	7
2	Haw	Never stopped working in midfield and ended with a game-high 34 touches.	7
3	Carl	Showed class every time he got the ball. Used ball so well to hurt opponents.	7
4	Coll	Battled hard all day to gather six inside-50s and 13 contested possessions.	8
5	StK	Solid game without taking it by the throat.	6
6	Frem	Played on Fyfe and the Docker dominated. Heppell’s 24 touches didn’t hurt.	5
7	NM	Run and creativity through middle a highlight – 8 clearances, 16 CPs.	8
8	Bris	Comparatively quiet day but still made a contribution.	5
9	Rich	Six clearances but not amassing big numbers.	6
10	Geel	Worked enormously hard around the ball and did all he could to lift team.	7
11	WCE	Third man up in the ruck a lot. Had 27 touches and kicked a goal.	6
13	Haw	Only seven of his 23 disposals were kicks, none effective. Impact was down.	5
14	StK	Tireless game and best Bomber. Others couldn’t follow his lead.	7
15	Melb	Came to life in the third term after being quelled by Viney. Seven tackles.	7
16	NM	Tagged out of game by Jacobs. Never allowed room to move.	4
17	Port	Acting captain worked tirelessly all through.	7
18	WB	Team-high nine clearances and better second half. 16 CPs.	7
19	GWS	Well restrained in midfield to be a fair way down on season's averages.	5
20	Adel	Six inside-50s and five clearances made him the most competent midfielder.	7
21	GCS	Booted three goals and was everywhere. Thriving with the captaincy.	8
22	Rich	Battle hard to inspire team with huge work ethic. Nine clearances.	8
23	Coll	Huge game. Always at the fall of the ball and won it to feed others.	8

2014 Season

1	NM	Matched on Wells initially. Kept driving Dons from wing and half back.	7
2	Haw	Quiet first half but lifted intensity after main break to be a force.	7
3	Carl	Used a bit down back but that didn’t stop him from finding the footy.	7
4	Frem	Big start and continued to win the ball, but influence petered out.	6
5	StK	Shadowed by Curren and kept under wraps.	3
6	Coll	Best on ground in first half with 19 disposals and ended up best – six clearances.	8
7	WB	Made up for two early errors that cost goals to be really important.	7
8	Bris	Ended up with surprisingly big stats but many missed targets.	6
9	Syd	Defensively found wanting at times but got his hands on the ball enough.	6
11	Rich	Tagged by Grigg but was able to lose him in transition to play a part.	6
12	GWS	Kept ticking along well and was always a problem to GWS.	7
13	Melb	Ran out the game well and always put his head over the ball. Not the worst.	6
14	Adel	Broke Kerridge’s tag and influential with his 27 disposals.	8
15	Geel	Tore Cats a new one. Kept finding footy at will. Only efficiency let him down.	8
16	Port	Produced the goal that won the game for Essendon.	6
17	Coll	In everything in flying start and slipped Macaffer.	7
18	WB	Well held by Wallis until second half when he started to generate clearances (10).	6
19	Syd	Looked to be matched on McVeigh. OK but stats inflated by late touches.	6
20	Rich	Now in absolute top echelon of midfielders. Output didn’t waver.	8
21	WCE	Closely tagged by Hutchings in first half but lifted in superb final hour of 29 touches.	7
22		Hand.
23	Carl	Favoured fractured hand but still had a big impact – especially late.	7
EF	NM	Picked up by Atley and had good start	8
SF		–
PF		–
GF		–

2013 Season

1	Adel	Started the season in slashing style off the wing.	6
2	Melb	Sublime in the first half when the game was at least close. Class act.	9
3	Frem	Couldn’t get things going despite strong work ethic. Better second half.	5
4	StK	Customary hard running and creativity.	7
5	Coll	Went head to head with Sidebottom and was shaded but still had an impact.	6
6		Groin.
7	Geel	Did some good things and put his body on the line when he had to.	6
8	Bris	OK without setting game on fire. Only two clearances but kicked two goals.	6
9	Rich	Another top-shelf performance from the youngster. Seven inside-50s.	7
10	Syd	Constant runner who used it well and created.	7
11	Carl	Matched on Scotland and below par initially then lifted.	6
12	GCS	Damaging by foot and had a hand in many Bomber attacks. Good outing.	7
14	WCE	OK without being exceptional.	6
15	Port	Came to the fore with Watson off ground. Huge in the middle two quarters.	7
16	WB	Wasted some ball at times but first and third quarters he led the charge.	7
17	GWS	Another tied up by a tight tag, this time from the impressive Whiley.	5
18	Haw	Worked hard but under pressure and wide a lot – five clearances, five inside-50s.	6
19	Coll	Worked hard (18 cont poss) and 11 clearances. Didn’t have enough mates.	7
20	WCE	Hard worker in midfield and used the ball fairly well compared to some teammates.	7
21	NM	Looked to be struggling early with leg injury and subbed off early second term.	2
22		Foot.
23		Foot.
QF
SF
PF
GF

2012 Season

1	NM	On McMillan at start and did well but tapered later in game.	5
2	Port	His 17 possessions seemed like 30 with that flowing hair but not damaging.	4
3	GCS	Ran hard to receive the footy and was a solid performer.	5
4	Carl	Good game. Picked up 22 cool, calm touches.	7
5	Coll	Great first half helped keep team in touch; faded after the main break.	7
6	Bris	Very good. Had 34 possessions, most delivered with calm and precision.	8
7	WCE	Steady contribution.	6
8	Rich	Matched on King early. Serviceable game without being outstanding.	5
11	Syd	One of better performed Bombers in first half.	6
13	Frem	Important contributor with 23 disposals and one goal. Played well.	6
14	WB	Not as prominent as usual in first half. Improved later.	6
15	StK	Had a good duel with Schneider.	5
16	Port	Had the run-with role on Boak and both players got plenty of the ball.	6
17	Geel	First quarter was his best but he was still one of the better Dons.	6
18	Haw	One of the better players in a struggling side.	6
19	Adel	Five clearances and four inside 50s for the young star.	6
20	NM	OK apart form one bad clanger deep in defence.	5
21	Carl	Didn’t impact at all in first half but at least answered the call to lift.	6
22	Rich	Prominent early and continued to be Essendon’s best.	7
23	Coll	Solid without dominating	5