Essendon have been accused of slapping retiring AFL champion Dyson Heppell “in the face”, after it was revealed on Wednesday that his farewell game will be in Brisbane on Saturday night.
The Bombers played in Melbourne last week, and there was enormous backlash when they left him out of the team that took on Sydney, denying local fans their chance to watch him in action live … and cheer him on for the final time.
Coach Brad Scott defended his decision, but commentators and club greats thought it was a strange call, believing his teammates would have been aided by an emotional boost if he had played against the Swans.
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Club great Matthew Lloyd said Heppell deserved that opportunity at Marvel Stadium “for all that he’s given to the club, and through all the tough times that he’s always been there and stood so strong for his club”.
“I personally would’ve loved to have seen it, for him, his family, his friends, potentially even a lift for the group, I would’ve loved to have seen it,” Lloyd said, while AFL greats David King and Kane Cornes said the decision was “madness”.
Even if Heppell didn’t start in the 22 last week, many wondered why he wasn’t named as the sub, which would have given fans and teammates an emotional lift when he was eventually injected into the game.
Now there is fresh fury with the decision to name in the team for the final game of the season … on the road.
“A week too late, Essendon. Poor form – a slap in the face for a warrior of your club,” one fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“Lol … in front of all their fans! Not content to flip off the supporters in their heartland once, Essendon have done it again. Mindboggling,” another said.
And another: “Laughing stock we are. Couldn’t give him one in front of his supporters.”
And another: “Seriously…. in Brisbane? Fricken jerks.”
And another: “F*** me that’s embarrassing.”
Scott was also lashed for this latest call.
“Brad Scott is a clown, pretty sure I speak for most Dons supporters,” one fan said.
And another: “A farewell game in Brisbane in front of barely any fans. The game should’ve been last week. Poor form from Essendon and Scott, but you’d expect no less from him.”
Last week a frosty Scott turned on a reporter when he was asked about the Heppell desicion following the loss to Sydney.
“We’ve had discussions for 4-6 weeks,” Scott said.
“He is as strong as I am on this. We were still in contention and we pick our best team and that’s what we did and that’s what everyone would expect us to do.”
More to come …