AFL captain hits back: ‘Would you tell your wife to stop smiling?’

After telling critics to “jam it” on the weekend, Essendon captain Dyson Heppell has again take aim at those who told him to stop smiling.

Dyson Heppell won’t stop smiling. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Essendon captain Dyson Heppell has taken another crack at critics who questioned the team’s demeanour as it tries to build on the momentum of Saturday night’s incredible win over Hawthorn.

Essendon have been hammered from all corners after a dismal start to the season and last month came under fire for smiling with opponents following a heavy loss to Fremantle.

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Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes suggested it didn’t look like the Bombers were hurting enough as they mingled with the Dockers after their 48-point defeat in April while St Kilda legend Nick Riewoldt said having fun at training was the “worst thing” Essendon could do.

Heppell told the naysayers to “jam it” in a post-match interview following the weekend’s win over Hawthorn and he was singing from a similar song sheet on Tuesday.

“I heard it (the criticism) second-hand, I didn’t see much of it, but people send a couple of things through,” Heppell said.

“Genuine carry-on from a lot of people — are you going to tell your kids or wife to stop smiling because they have a bad day at work?

“I’m always an optimistic, positive type of bloke and I’m always going to come in as my authentic self and that’s enjoying my time here and celebrating my teammates, whether that’s in a win or a loss.

“You still get around teammates, you celebrate them and try to enjoy this environment and bounce back out of it.”

Spirits have finally lifted at Bomber-land. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

The Bombers lost five players to illness before the opening bounce against the Hawks and most judges were expecting them to slump to a seventh defeat from eight games in what’s been a horror season so far.

But Heppell and Co. held firm to pull off what he described as an “unbelievable” 16.12 (108) to 11.15 (81) victory.

The win was widely celebrated but Geelong champion Cameron Ling warned Essendon about getting too carried away.

“It was a ‘Miracle at Marvel’ and all that stuff — did I miss something?” Ling said.

“Or did a few blokes pull out of the game with a little bit of a flu and they beat a team who’d won three games for the year?

“Someone needs to explain to me why this was a win for the ages. Tone it down a little bit.”

The success over Hawthorn was just Essendon’s second win of the year and the Bombers still sit 16th on the ladder — above only North Melbourne and West Coast.

Essendon next plays Sydney at the SCG on Saturday night.