STANDING in the Essendon rooms after his team's five-goal loss to Collingwood, Essendon youngster Dyson Heppell admitted the intensity of the Anzac Day game was far beyond anything he'd previously experienced in football.

Given Heppell had played in only four AFL matches before the clash with the Magpies, his statement was not entirely surprising. What was surprising was the way in which the youngster from Leongatha in Gippsland had handled the fast and furious nature of the contest, which was played in front of a crowd of almost 90,000 people.

Not only did Heppell pick up 25 possessions, take six marks and lay five tackles while roaming across half-back, he also finished second in the voting for the Anzac Medal.

Heppell received five votes, while Collingwood's Scott Pendlebury won it with eight.

"I ran out and just looked at the stands and tried to absorb the whole environment. It calmed my nerves from there," the modest 18-year-old said.

"Obviously very disappointed [we didn't win]. There was a game to be won and we couldn't the job done.

"But overall I did very much enjoy the experience. The atmosphere and the whole build-up towards the game was fantastic.

"Once the first bounce goes up you sort of just ease your way into the game, but I guess it definitely helped last week playing in front of 75,000 against Carlton."

With his family watching on from the stands, Heppell spent much of the afternoon trying to quell the impact of Collingwood maestro Alan Didak.

"It was a massive step up," he said.

"There was a lot of contested footy. It was very hard."

Essendon coach James Hird was full of praise for Heppell's performance.

"He was outstanding," Hird said.

"He's an amazing kid.

"He's resilient, he works his backside off, he's not arrogant, he's not ahead of himself in any way and he's playing some terrific football."

Having only been recruited by the Bombers six months ago in the NAB AFL Draft (he was selected with pick eight), Heppell can hardly believe how well his career is progressing so far.

"I'm loving every minute of it," he added.

"It has been a surreal experience, coming in and being able to play a few games early in the season."