Essendon Football Club has unveiled a new look leadership group to its members and supporters at today’s intra-club match at The Hangar.

Dyson Heppell will captain the Bombers again this season, while Zach Merrett and Cale Hooker have also been re-instated as vice-captains.

David Myers and Orazio Fantasia have been elevated to the group, replacing the retired Jobe Watson and veteran Brendan Goddard.

Goddard was voted into the group but felt the time was right to step aside to provide his teammates with the opportunity to pursue their leadership ambitions.

Joe Daniher and Michael Hurley round out the seven man leadership group.

Senior Coach, John Worsfold, said the leadership group will continue to drive the team’s core values and elite standards.

“As a team we are committed to taking our game to the next level through hard work and continuous improvement,” Worsfold said.

“It’s wonderful to see Dyson voted back in as captain, and his leadership style clearly resonates with his teammates.

“Dyson consistently displays care for his teammates, leads by example and is extremely driven to see this group achieve the success they are striving for.

“Orazio and David’s elevation is vote of confidence in their leadership qualities, while Brendon’s decision to step aside and provide a teammate with the opportunity to step up is a wonderful example of leadership.

“The leadership group will continue to drive our elite standards and core values to ensure we are ruthless and competitive in every aspect of our preparation and performance.”

Heppell said it was huge honour to lead the playing group again in 2018.

“I really enjoyed the challenge of leading the group last season, and I’m extremely proud to have the opportunity to captain the Club again in 2018,” Heppell said.

“The leadership group is made up of a really diverse and talented group of players who are extremely passionate to see the Club achieve success.

“While the leadership group will uphold our elite standards, it’s up to every player on our list to drive the improvement in order to take our game to the next level.

“While there’s still plenty of hard work ahead of us in the build up to round one, we’re excited about the challenge of the upcoming season and can’t wait to get out there and start playing for premiership points.”