Essendon’s 2020 leadership group has been finalised and new member Dylan Shiel says he is thrilled to be acknowledged as one of the club’s top leaders after just one year in the red and black.

Shiel, fellow onballers Devon Smith and David Zaharakis, and experienced defender Michael Hurley have been voted in by their peers to join captain Dyson Heppell in the group, and the star midfielder was honoured to have such strong support from his teammates.

“I’m super happy to be voted in,” Shiel said on Tuesday.

“I feel like it’s a nice acknowledgement from the group that they want you to be a part of the leadership group that’s going to take them forward, drive the standards of the footy club and hold everyone accountable to our values as well.”

The former Giant is no stranger to the role after being a member of Greater Western Sydney’s leadership group before crossing to The Hangar ahead of the 2019 season.

And having taken plenty of lessons out of that experience, he said his leadership style is “evolving” and he is confident he can guide the squad well in 2020.

“I was a part of the leadership group at times at the Giants where I learnt so much under guys like Phil Davis, Callan Ward and Matt de Boer.

“For me, it’s probably my off-field leadership in terms of the way I prepare, train and go about football in a professional manner – I think that’s probably where I do most of my leading.

“But out on the field as well, I feel like leaders need to perform out on the field and certainly the guys who have been voted into the leadership group this year have been doing that.”

The members of the new-look group have played an average of 170 senior games and Shiel said that experience, alongside their varying personalities, will ensure a professional and balanced approach.

“There’s a lot of experience in the group, which is exciting. The (playing) group knew what they were voting for; we had the criteria in front of us and this is the result of it,” he said.

“It’s great that the players get to choose who they want and we’ve got different characteristics among each person.

“It’s not the same individuals in the group, you’re going to have different personalities, which is great because we need to be able to lead a group of 40-plus men as well as this footy club.

“We’re there to support Dyson as captain and we’ll be doing our very best to.”

With the season just around the corner and the Bombers’ first Marsh Community Series hitout against West Coast on February 27 just weeks away, Shiel is itching to return to the field.

“To be honest, I wanted to play games back in November, I’ve been pretty eager to play some footy all summer.

“We’re starting to play a bit of match play now in our training, which is good. The guys are getting a little bit itchy and want to hit some bodies and put our practice into play.

“Ultimately, we’re preparing to go deep into the season and finish off the 2020 season really strongly.”