Essendon captain Dyson Heppell says he never had any doubts about committing to another contract at The Hangar.

Heppell has turned his back on free agency by signing a new contract that will tie him to the club until at least the end of the 2022 season.

The skipper said the camaraderie within the squad is one of the key reasons behind his decision.

“It will be my 10th season coming up in 2020 and to extend for a further couple puts any doubt out of anyone else’s mind as well, just to get that done and locked away until 2022, which is great,” Heppell said on Monday.

“It’s an amazing bunch of boys, the playing group. We’ve formed a really close friendship amongst the boys and the culture that we’re building is something that I’m very excited about. 

“Everyone’s buying into the direction that we’re heading, led by some amazing coaches who are all on the same path as well. We’re all aligned in what we want to achieve and we’ll keep chipping away at that.”

Heppell has once again been selected by his peers to lead the side in what will be his fourth year in charge as captain in 2020. 

The midfielder is grateful to have the faith of the club and said he is eager to continue to improve as a leader.

“That’s the most important thing – to have the support of the playing group, the board and the coaching staff,” he said.

“I’m very proud to lead the club again. I’m obviously still developing as a leader and have plenty to improve on, but something that I love and thrive on is improving on my leadership and I think I’m adapting well to the role as I go on.”

A lifelong Essendon supporter, Heppell said it is “amazing” to play such a crucial role at the club. 

“Growing up barracking for the Bombers, I loved getting to games when I could. 

“Meeting some of the players, I think I was five or six when I met (former Bombers) Mark McVeigh, Sean Wellman, Dean Solomon and these types of blokes. I played footy with a couple of them as well. 

“Now with 10 seasons for the Bombers, it’s pretty special looking back on it, for sure.” 

The 27-year-old battled an ongoing foot injury late in the 2019 season before successfully undergoing surgery following the team’s disappointing elimination final loss to West Coast. 

Heppell has so far remained unable to join his teammates in full training this pre-season, but he said it has provided him with plenty of time to watch on from the outside and a handful of Bombers have caught the captain’s eye.

“Darcy Parish has gone to another level, Andy McGrath has also gone to another level with his standard of training.

“Two of the mature guys, Jakey Stringer and Dev (Smith), have really taken control and led from the front while we’ve had a core group in rehab.”

While he is still restricted, Heppell is confident putting in the work over the upcoming break will have him ready to fire in late January.

“I’m on pretty light duties in terms of running, but the foot is settling really well coming off surgery,” he said.

“I’ll hopefully get outside and start to progress my running in a couple of days, which will be good, and get a good build over the Christmas break leading into January and I’ll be right to go in the back end of Jan. 

“The rest of the body is cherry ripe and ready to crack in.” 

To help celebrate Heppell’s new contract, the Bomber Shop is offering a special limited discount. For 24 hours you can have 21% off all products using the code ‘SKIPPER’, so don’t miss out!