I once saw a werewolf drinking a pina colada at Trader Vics…
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Personally I like being caught in the rain.
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I know it’s not in his nature but I would love to see Hep throw someone to the turf and if one of our players is getting roughed up then he needs to be first and last on the scene.
Teams know they can Bully us and it needs to stop.
Get some C*** about ya Hep.
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What has he done this year, as a captain that’s inspired us, or lifted us? Even last. I honestly can’t remember the last time I went “that’s the way skipper, leading from the front” or just doing something inspirational
He’s the worst captain of this club I’ve seen
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He tries his guts out. Players seem to respect him. Let him grow in the role.
Reckon you are being a bit harsh.
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Opinion, sure, but don’t you think the players would be the best to judge that? They selected him after all.
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Me too. Stood up when things got too much for Jobe during the saga and has been standing up ever since.
He’s still growing into the role, I reckon he’ll be one of the greats.
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Now there’s a haircut you can set your watch to!
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Id just like to clarify that I think Heppell is a pretty good player and I really rate him. He’s in poor form though (he was better against the blues) His kicking this year has been nothing short of diabolical though, which seriously needs to be fixed or he’s in trouble
I’m talking about what he does as a captain. @Heffsgirl I’m sure he tries his guts out, so do a lot of players. That’s not the #1 thing I look for in a captain, because it’s a non negotiable. If that’s the best answer anyone can come up with, or when @Darli says he stood up for Jobe when it got tough, for fks sake, these are just things any decent senior footballer would do. It furthers my point that he’s not a inspirational captain. Can anyone honestly, and il ask it again, because I can’t, remember the last time you saw hep do something on field that made you stand up and take notice? The last 4 weeks have been a utter joke, has he stood up once in that 4 weeks and lifted this side by an act of toughness, brilliance or unbelievable play? Nope. He’s wheeled out the same garbage in the post game videos though
I want my captain to lead by example. I want my captain to inspire me. I want my captain to make a stand during games and say enough is enough. Blokes like hird, Lloyd and Watson would find something, always, when the chips were down. I haven’t seen that from Dyson as skipper.
I just don’t think he’s the right man to captain this side, but I think he’s a more than handy member of this group and player
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Ken Fraser was highly respected by his peers and students for his professionalism and class room ability.
Also a fantastic captain of Essendon. A true leader.
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Don’t see it as the captain’s role to be the enforcer. In the past we had the likes of Roger Merrett Duckworth and Wallis. Do you see anyone on the current list as performing that role( genuine question)?
Mckernan.
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Hirdy wasn’t a enforcer either but he took more hits than any other player I have seen.
I don’t mind Heppell as a player and I think he’s more valuable playing in an outside role but it’s hard to lead by example if you don’t have a physical aspect to your game in some form or another.
I think the senior leadership across the group is pretty poor and the reason Heppel has got the arm band in the first place. Mastering leadership is a life long pursuit, just becoming good at it can take many years. With a coherent game plan, some decent form and being surrounded by strong leaders Heppel the captain would be looking better. There is no reason he can’t become a very good captain.
He certainly needs to become more aggressive and ditch that nice guy, yeah nah image. When people think of a Dyson Heppel they aren’t thinking of a ruthless, selfless leader and if ever someone really needed to think about their personal brand it’s him.
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I agree that mastering leadership is a life long pursuit. But IMO you appoint a captain who has already built his leadership skills to the level that will enable him to lead from the day he is appointed.
I also disagree with the notion that its acceptable for a leader to be assessed only when the team/ gameplan is going well. Jobe is regarded as one of our better captains because despite the poor gameplan from 2010-2012, the disarray that was 2013-2015, his performances seldom dipped and his leadership never wavered. He was a great leader because he led through those times and didnt let the circumstances dictate how well he’d play/ lead.
I’d suggest that if Hepp cannot lead adequately through a tough period, then he probably isnt fit for captaincy- thats the whole point of being captain, to lead through the unknown, and even if you arent 100% certain where itll take you, to appear as if you do, so as to provide guidance for those youre leading.
I know its only been a year for Hepp, so I wouldnt make any assessments as to his capabilities as of yet. But IMO he needs to carve out a niche for himself as captain, he needs a ‘brand’, needs something for the players and indeed the supporters to latch onto other than a calming persona, otherwise he wont last long as captain at all…
At this point in time he kinda reminds me of Cotchin in his early days as captain, and he’ll probably end up copping the same criticisms.
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It’s a very shallow view of leadership that thinks that what we see on field defines what Dyson is or is not as a leader. The on field component is a quite small part of what the captain does/is required to do. And even just isolating the on field; not everyone is a ‘lead by example’ leader. There seems to be a very narrow focus around here.
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Needs to get some advice from Cotchin, Cotchin was in the same spot as Heppel a few years back.
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As supporters we can really only go by what we see on field though. I have no doubt he isn’t as quite off the field as he is on the field.
If he is a hard taskmaster off the field then he needs to find a way to translate that not only into his own performance but into his teammates
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I mean this in the nicest way - he is not your captain. He may show and do a lot that you will never know of. He is the players’ captain, and they chose him for a reason.
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Love Heppel and he should always be part of the leadership group but would prefer Dev Smith to take over as captain next year.