Heppell participated in the Auskick program at Leongatha.[2] He began playing football with Leongatha Football Club,[3] and played for Gippsland Power in the TAC Cup for the 2009 and 2010 seasons.[4] Named as Gippsland's captain for the 2010 season,[5] Heppell also played for the Victorian Country side at the 2010 AFL Under 18 Championships, where he was named in the All-Australian team.[6] At 189cm,[4] he played as a "line-breaking defender"[5] for the first half of the 2010 season, before moving into the midfield for the second half of the season.[5]
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.[7] 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.[8] 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.[9]
AFL career
Heppell kicking for goal in 2015
Despite his performance in the grand final, Heppell was an impressive performer at the AFL draft camp,[10] and was touted by many as being a potential top five draft pick in the 2010 national draft,[11] with some even claiming he could go as high as top three.[8] Most speculation suggested that the Brisbane Lions would select Heppell with pick five,[11] who with his "silky"[6] skills and raking left foot, modelled his style on the Lions' own Josh Drummond.[4]
In the week before the draft, however, a rumour, which Heppell denied, began circulating that he was suffering from groin problems.[11] 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.[6] 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".[6]
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.[12] 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.[13] 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".[14]
He continued his ascent as an emerging star by finishing third in the clubs best and fairest award 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 in the best players for the comeback win over Carlton in round 11.
Heppell, along with 33 other Essendon players, whilst not returning a positive test was found guilty of using a banned performance-enhancing substance, thymosin beta-4, as part of Essendon's sports supplements program during the 2012 season. He and his team-mates were initially found not guilty in March 2015 by the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal,[17] but a guilty verdict was returned in January 2016 after an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency. He was suspended for two years which, with backdating, ended in November 2016; as a result, he served approximately fourteen months of his suspension and missed the entire 2016 AFL season.[18]
In February 2017, Heppell was announced as Essendon's new captain, taking over from Brendon Goddard.[19] In December 2019, he signed a two-year contract extension with Essendon, keeping him at the club until 2022.[20] He re-signed for 2023[21] but stepped down as captain after six seasons in the role.[22]
On 13 August 2024, Heppell announced that he would retire at the conclusion of the 2024 AFL season.[23] Heppell played a farewell game in the Bombers' final game of the season, against the Brisbane Lions at The Gabba.[24]
↑ The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
James Albert Hird is a former professional Australian rules football player and past senior coach of the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Matthew James Lloyd is a former professional Australian rules footballer, who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Scott Lucas is a former Australian rules footballer for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League, and he is noted as being the other major forward for the Bombers along with Matthew Lloyd during Essedon's turn-of-the-century domination. Together, Lloyd and Lucas were affectionately dubbed the "twin towers" due to their height in the Bomber forward line.
The Crichton Medal is the name given to the best and fairest award for the Australian rules football team the Essendon Football Club. Since 1959 or 1960, it has been known officially as the W. S. Crichton Medal. The naming of the award is in honour of Wally Crichton, a former administrator for Essendon. The voting system as of the 2017 AFL season consists of five coaches, giving each player a ranking from zero to five after each match. Players can receive a maximum of 25 votes for a game.
Jobe Watson is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Watson, the son of three-time Essendon premiership champion Tim Watson, was drafted by Essendon under the father–son rule in the 2002 national draft, and went on to become one of the best midfielders of the modern era. A dual All-Australian and three-time Crichton Medallist, he captained Essendon from 2010 to early 2016, and was the face of the Essendon playing group during the most turbulent period in the club's history.
Jarryd Roughead is an Australian rules football coach and former player. He was formerly an assistant coach with the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the AFL and was the club's captain from 2017-2018. He retired in 2019.
Brent Stanton is a retired professional Australian rules footballer who played his entire career for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
David Zaharakis is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played 13 seasons for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
Luke Shuey is a former Australian rules footballer and former captain of the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). He retired at the conclusion of the 2023 AFL season.
Jake Melksham is a professional Australian rules footballer who has played for Melbourne Football Club and the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A midfielder, 1.86 metres tall and weighing 83 kilograms (183 lb), Melksham also has the ability to play as a defender, primarily as a half-back flanker. Growing up in Glenroy, Victoria, he played top-level football early when he joined the Calder Cannons' under 18 side in the TAC Cup at the age of sixteen. He spent three years playing for the Calder Cannons, winning a premiership in his final junior year. His achievements as a junior include state representation and the TAC Medal as the best player on the ground in the TAC Cup Grand Final.
Luke Tapscott is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
The 2011 AFL season was the 115th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989.
Michael George Hibberd is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Melbourne Football Club and Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A defender, 1.87 metres tall and weighing 94 kilograms (207 lb), Hibberd plays primarily on the half-back flank. After spending the 2008 season with the Dandenong Stingrays in the TAC Cup, he missed out on selection in the 2008 AFL draft, which saw him spend two seasons in the Victorian Football League (VFL) with the Frankston Football Club. After winning Frankston's best and fairest and the Fothergill–Round Medal as the VFL's most promising young player in 2010, he was recruited by the Essendon Football Club with the fourth selection in the 2011 pre-season draft.
Michael Ross is an Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL).
The 2013 AFL season was the 117th season of the Australian Football League (AFL), the highest level senior Australian rules football competition in Australia, which was known as the Victorian Football League until 1989. The season featured eighteen clubs, ran from 22 March until 28 September, and comprised a 22-game home-and-away season followed by a finals series featuring the top eight clubs.
Joe Daniher is a former professional Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club and the Brisbane Lions.
Zachary Merrett is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Merrett is a three-time All-Australian and five-time Crichton Medallist; he also won the Yiooken Award in 2023 and the Anzac Medal in 2024. Merrett has served as Essendon captain since 2023.
Orazio Maurice Fantasia is a professional Australian rules footballer who plays for the Carlton Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited by the Essendon Football Club with the 55th overall selection in the 2013 national draft. He previously played for the Essendon Football Club and Port Adelaide Football Club.
Andrew McGrath is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). He was recruited by the Essendon Football Club with the first overall selection in the 2016 national draft.
The 2023 Essendon Football Club season was the club's 125th season playing in the Australian Football League (AFL). The club also fielded an AFLW side that competed in the AFLW's 8th Season. Essendon also fielded reserve teams for the AFL and AFLW in the Victorian Football League (VFL) and the VFLW. This was the club's 14th season in the VFL.
↑ McNicol, Adam (2 November 2010). "Heppell's hands fastest". Australian Football League. Archived from the original on 7 October 2012. Retrieved 5 December 2010.
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