Jimmy Bartel believes Essendon “got the execution wrong” when they refused to select retiring club champion Dyson Heppell for a farewell game in front of a home crowd in round 23.
The Bombers went down to the ladder-leading Swans by 39 points at Marvel Stadium, after leading by seven points at half time.
It all but officially ended their finals hopes, with their 20-year drought without a win in September set to continue beyond 2024.
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Heppell, who captained the club between 2017 to 2022 and has played 252 games, was not selected for a final home game farewell, despite being available and not injured.
Fans were still able to farewell Heppell, who walked around the ground before the match, but for some it didn’t feel like a proper send off.
While coach Brad Scott declared the decision was mutual and had to do with selecting the strongest team to fight for a finals spot, Bartel believes there was a classier way to handle it.
“You can still be ruthless in your decisions going forward, but you can be delicate in your execution,” Bartel said on Nine’s Footy Classified on Wednesday night.
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Bartel made other suggestions about how Scott and his team could have incorporated Heppell into the match.
“What about the lift he (Heppell) probably could have got if he was the sub. Or could you have started him and brought someone on as the sub, if it wasn’t working? I looked at that side,” he said.
“I don’t think the difference between whoever was going to play in his position was going to be that great, where you could have got a bigger upside with him playing.
“You can still be ruthless in everything you do in football … I just reckon they got the execution wrong.”
Meantime, Essendon great Matthew Lloyd again expressed his disappointment towards the club for leaving Heppell out.
Lloyd declared it was a bad look for the club’s more impressionable players.
“He should have played. Certainly for Dyson, for everything he’s been for the club, he should have played. But also for the other players view the decision and how you treat your champions of your club,” Lloyd said.
“I don’t think people across the whole club were rapt.”
Heppell will be selected for a farewell game in round 24, but will be forced to play at the Gabba against Brisbane on Saturday night.
