RETIRING Essendon stalwart Dyson Heppell will be given a belated farewell game in the Bombers’ season-ending clash with Brisbane.
Former Bombers captain Heppell announced his retirement last week but was not selected for a final home game against Sydney that Friday, when Essendon’s season was still technically alive.
Instead, he will suit up for a 253rd and final time at the Gabba – a game that is a dead rubber for the Bombers, but could yet determine Brisbane’s position within the top eight.
The Bombers confirmed the news on Wednesday.
Essendon crashed out of the finals race officially on the weekend following their sixth loss in their past eight games.
It means they will miss finals for a third straight season after sitting in the top four for a large chunk of the 2024 campaign.
Heppell, 32, never played in a finals win across his 14-year career at Essendon, where he stayed loyal despite the club’s debilitating supplements saga.
He was farewelled pre-game by Essendon fans last Friday, and after the match coach Brad Scott defended the decision not to play him against the Swans.
“Dyson has been very, very clear that his decision to retire, a big part of it was he talked to me about when someone has come through and is ready to take his spot and performed that he would know it was time,” Scott said.
“We were still in contention, we pick our best team, and that’s what we did.
“That’s what everyone would expect us to do.”
