Former Essendon best and fairest winner David Zaharakis isn’t sure whether Dyson Heppell will continue as the club’s captain in 2023.
Having held the role since 2017, calls have arisen for Heppell to step aside as he enters his 13th season, particularly as the club has viable options to take over.
While unsure whether Heppell will choose to stand down, Zaharakis named four ex-teammates of his that he feels have the capacity to step up and lead the group.
“I’m not sure, to be honest,” Zaharakis told SEN Breakfast.
“I haven’t spoken to ‘Dys’ on whether he wants it still, but you’ve got Zach (Merrett) who is up and coming and the last five years of his career have been unbelievable.
“He’d be a great one for that and then Andy McGrath is a young up and coming one.
“But there are some great leaders at the club, Mason Redman is a really good leader, really good, Kyle Langford is another one.
“I reckon they’ve got some really good players in the wing, but whether they want them to be captain or whether they get voted in, I don’t know how they do it.
“Every club does it differently every year, but I think they’ve got some really good players in the leadership group this year.
“Whoever is captain though, I’m not sure.”
On the coaching front, Zaharakis expects to see a different Essendon side as Brad Scott takes over from Ben Rutten.
Having played against the North Melbourne sides Scott coached from 2010 to 2019, Zaharakis expects the Bombers to play attacking and ruthless footy under the 46-year-old.
“I think the good thing about the change of coach is that it brings energy to the football club,” Zaharakis said.
“Everyone gets excited and it’s a tweak of the game plan and a new beginning for a lot of players.
“A lot of players will play different roles to what they did in the past.
“If you watched Brad Scott at North Melbourne, it was great attacking footy and ruthless footy and a lot of players get to play with flair.
“I think that’s going to be great for the football club, to actually see players use their attributes.”
Scott’s first official game in charge of the Dons comes in Round 1 when Essendon face Hawthorn at the MCG on March 19.