ESSENDON coach James Hird has labelled NAB AFL Rising Star winner Dyson Heppell a potential club captain.

Speaking after the young Bomber was announced as the winner of the award ahead of West Coast's Luke Shuey, Hird said Heppell had shown leadership qualities since his first day at Windy Hill.

"If Dyson keeps working on his career and keeps getting better, and keeps dedicating himself to the game and doesn't get ahead of himself, which I'm sure he won't, and stays the sort of person he is now, then he has the potential to be a captain of our club," Hird said.

"As we all know, you have to keep working and keep getting better, and you can't take this game for granted, because as soon as you do, it chews you up.

"But I'm sure that won't happen to Dyson."

An Essendon fan growing up, Heppell admitted it still felt strange working alongside his boyhood heroes.

The 19 year-old said he'd recently found pictures of himself as a young child alongside key defender Dustin Fletcher, now a teammate, and his backline coach Sean Wellman.

"I still feel like a fan," Heppell said.

"Growing up idolising Jobe Watson and whatnot, and now walking into the locker room and chatting with them everyday, and training with them and playing with them, it's amazing."

Heppell said his aim approaching the season had been to make his AFL debut in round one.

He achieved that and, despite countless more senior players around the league struggling to cope with the demands of the long season, went on to play every game.

Hird described the young midfielder/half-back's resilience as "remarkable".

The first year coach revealed he'd planned to rest Heppell before matches against Gold Coast and the Eagles, but changed his mind on both occasions.

"It got closer to the game, and I thought, 'nah, we need him'," Hird said.

"To his credit, he's taken on every challenge, and every time we've wanted to rest him, he's sort of badgered me to keep him in the team.

"So we've done that."

Heppell credited the Bombers' fitness staff and recovery programs with keeping him on the field.

"The fitness staff have been great at managing my training loads throughout the week," he said.

"If I'm feeling a bit flat, I take it a bit lighter that week and get ready for the game coming up."

The award had been billed as a two-horse race between Heppell and Shuey.

In the end Heppell was a clear winner, polling 44 of a possible 45 votes.

Of the nine judges, only Glen Jakovich rated the Eagle ahead.

But Heppell praised the runner-up.

"He (Shuey) has had an amazing year and he would've been a very deserving winner," he said.