Brad Scott slammed over brutal Dyson Heppell snub as Swans exposed by glaring AFL trend

Essendon coach Brad Scott is copping backlash from around the AFL world after failing to give club great Dyson Heppell a game in his home farewell against the Swans at Marvel Stadium on Friday night. Sydney all but wrapped up the minor premiership after a second half masterclass saw them surge to a 15.8 (98) to 8.11 (59) win that ends Essendon's finals hopes, but it was the non-selection of retiring Bombers great Heppell that angered many fans.

The former club captain announced during the week that he was calling time on his career after playing more than 250 games for Essendon since making his AFL debut in 2011. Bombers fans would have been hoping to see the club great run out one final time at home before he hangs up the boots but Scott couldn't find a place for the veteran in his best side on Friday night.

Heppell was seen embracing family members and friends in the stands as fans paid their respects to the one-club player. But Scott's decision to deny the 32-year-old a final farewell game in front of his home faithful left many supporters disillusioned with the scenes on Friday night. And the Essendon coach was clearly not pleased when asked by a reporter to explain his brutal snub of Heppell after the game.

“We’ve had discussions for four to six weeks, he is as strong as I am on this," Scott said. "We were still in contention and we pick our best team and that’s what we did and that’s what everyone would expect us to do." The Essendon coach said he could "potentially" play Heppell in next week's final game of the regular season away to the Brisbane Lions, before ending the press conference abruptly on the touchy subject.

“A frosty Brad Scott there based on the Dyson Heppell question,” Hawthorn great Ben Dixon Dixon said on Fox Footy afterwards. “Just when he was asked the question you just saw the eyes piercing straight through that journo as if to say ‘what I should have picked him tonight should I?’.”

Brad Scott cops backlash over Dyson Heppell snub

Essendon great Matthew Lloyd was also sad to see Heppell denied a home farewell. “I think the majority would say that they would have loved to have seen Dyson play tonight, for all that he’s given to the club, and through all the tough times that he’s always been there and stood so strong for his club,” Lloyd told 3AW.

Fellow AFL greats Kane Cornes and David King both agreed Scott should have afforded Heppell a proper home farewell for his long service to the club. Cornes described his non-selection by the Bombers coach as "madness" and King referenced Heppell's leadership and what he's meant to the club and fans.

"Everyone talks about how good a leader he has been and what a great teammate. 250 games, All-Australian, best and fairest. And they had the chance and they bring in Sam Weideman?” King said. I just think, why not give this guy one more on the way out? Give the fans in the Melbourne home base a chance to go and say thank you to Dyson."

Swans start slow again despite second half fightback

The drama around Heppell overshadowed another stunning second half performance from John Longmire's Swans, who all but wrapped up the minor premiership despite another slow start. Sydney's lacklustre first quarters have become an alarming trend for Longmire's side, and after last week's epic come-from-behind win against Collingwood, the Swans were again forced to find another gear in the second half against Essendon.

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Sydney has won just eight of its first quarters in 22 games this season, despite sitting pretty on the top of the ladder. On Friday night, the Swans only gave up a five-point lead after the opening term against the Bombers but the deficit could have been much greater if Essendon were more clinical. And Longmire will have to find a way of addressing the trend when the finals series gets underway.

"I don't think that first half will go down in the history books, but that makes it even better and more satisfying in a lot of ways," Longmire said post-match. "I mean, some of the games we've been able to win this year, we've been able to win with really strong, dominant performances from early on and we've been able to fizz the ball around and things are working pretty well and your system's all up and going and you sit back and say, 'that's a really good game'.

The Swans trailed 26-45 in the contested possession count at the first change, with Collingwood great Nathan Buckley addressing the issue on Fox Footy’s coverage. “It was the same old Swans with that first quarter fadeout; not being there to be able and stake a claim, especially after their last quarter heroics last week,” Buckley said.

“Four scoring shots each (at QT) isn’t representative of how the game (was) played, Essendon had all the territory." Having been limited to just five possessions at halftime, Swans midfielder Isaac Heeney was massively influential in Sydney's second half surge, firing in the third quarter with 12 touches and a goal. Former captain Luke Parker played a crucial role up forward with three goals, while current skipper Callum Mills was vital down back in his best outing since returning from injury five weeks ago.

with AAP