Dominant Dyson Heppell helps Bombers ‘get real’ to bury Carlton

ESSENDON captain Dyson Heppell knew his Bombers’ season would be dead and buried if they lost to Carlton. So they addressed the “elephant in the room”.

Dyson Heppell dominated the final term when the game was a up for grabs. Picture: AAP

THERE was an elephant in the room ahead of Essendon’s clash with Carlton at the MCG today.

And skipper Dyson Heppell wasn’t afraid to drag it from the shadowed corner and put it firmly in front of his teammates.

If the Bombers lost, it was virtually season over.

They sat 10th on the ladder before the game and every game is do-or-die.

And Heppell wasn’t scared to come out and say it.

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Dyson Heppell dominated the final term when the game was a up for grabs. Picture: AAP

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“It was addressed prior to the game. I said it myself — ‘it’s the elephant in the room — if we don’t win today, she’s lights out, just about’,” he said.

“So I thought the efforts in the end to really stick to how we were trying to play and an ability to come back to that was super.”

The Bombers got “real” with each other, he said.

They're in the eight & happy about it. @superfooty #AFLDonsBlues pic.twitter.com/CPznFsPSN1

— Lauren Wood (@LaurenA_Wood) August 5, 2017

“We would have been buried. Our season pretty well would have been dead, I reckon, if we hadn’t have got up,” Heppell said with a relieved smile.

“It was an enormous effort to take the four points, in the end, but not in the way we would have liked. But you take it.”

In what has become as trademark to him as those famous blonde dreadlocks, Heppell was dominant when it mattered.

He gathered 11 final-term possessions as the Bombers launched their final assault before claiming the eight-point victory.

But they almost didn’t get there.

Heppell was in everything as the Dons dug deep. Picture: Getty Images

And he enjoyed the spoils of victory after the game with mate Patrick Ambrose. Picture: Alex Coppel.

Heppell echoed his coach John Worsfold in saying that the second and third quarters saw the Bombers drawn into “the Carlton way” — it was slow, and with plenty of short kicks.

“We were retreating a bit into defence,” Heppell said.

“I don’t know if you can say we got comfortable in the way we were playing … but then we made sure we were coming up hard and forcing them down the line in the end.”

From here, every game is must-win, he conceded.

There’s Adelaide next week, then a trip to Metricon Stadium against Gold Coast before the home-and-away season is closed at Etihad Stadium against Fremantle.

There’s no elephant in that — just what Heppell describes as “an amazing challenge”.

“If we keep winning we’ll be a good sniff (of making finals),” he said.

“There’s definitely a few things to iron out from today but we’ll fire up and take on Adelaide next week.

“It’s an amazing challenge for us and a really exciting one. We’re really looking forward to this. Adelaide a super team but can be vulnerable at times like all other sides as well. We’ll try and bring our best footy and see how we go.”