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Essendon will unveil their AFL leadership group on Wednesday morning, amid speculation Dyson Heppell will take over as captain.
The Bombers will make the announcement before an internal trial match at their Tullarmarine headquarters.
Heppell was vice-captain under Jobe Watson before they were among 34 current and past Essendon players to receive doping bans last year because of the club’s supplements debacle.
Of those players, Heppell and Watson are among 10 players who are now back at Essendon for this season.
Heppell, the No.8 pick in the 2010 draft, has played 106 games since his 2011 senior debut.
In 2014 the 24-year-old won the club best and fairest award and was an All-Australian selection.
Watson captained the Bombers from 2010 until last year’s bans, with Brendon Goddard then taking over for the season.
On Tuesday night, former Essendon captain Matthew Lloyd endorsed Heppell as their new skipper.
“It’s not just how he plays on the field,” Lloyd told 3AW.
“Dyson is the total package, in my opinion (and) …the perfect age to take over.”
Also on Tuesday night, St Kilda confirmed that Jarryn Geary would take over as captain.
Geary leads a new-look Saints leadership group, with Nick Riewoldt stepping down as captain after 11 years.
Fellow veterans Leigh Montagna and Sean Dempster have also given up their official leadership roles.
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