DYSON Heppell says he's "happy to wait" for Essendon's captaincy while he continues his apprenticeship under reappointed skipper Jobe Watson.

Heppell was in the mix to take the reins next season after the 30-year-old skipper revealed he had been worn down by the supplements scandal and was considering his football future.

But Watson has since rediscovered his passion and was last week voted in by his teammates and club officials to continue in the role he's held since taking over from Matthew Lloyd at the end of 2009.

Heppell, who stood in for an injured Watson for nine weeks last year, has been elevated to the vice-captaincy and the 23-year-old said he was keen to support the veteran skipper.

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"For sure, it's a great honour. I'm really enjoying the experience and learning under Jobe – especially the experience of standing in as captain last year," Heppell said.

"I think it was fantastic for my development, and having the badge as vice-captain is very exciting."

Heppell added there was no tinge of disappointment at missing out on the top job in coach John Worsfold's first season in charge.

"Nah, not at all, not at all. I'm certainly happy to wait," he said.

"I think the experience from last year made me appreciate the job that Jobe has done over the last few years and I certainly want to help him as much as I can this year."

After his media duties, Heppell ran laps while his teammates kicked-off a heavy two-hour session at Tullamarine on Tuesday.

But the star midfielder declared he will be "ready to fire up in January" after battling a couple of "little niggles" since the International Rules Test in Ireland.

Former Sydney Swans midfielder Craig Bird and Michael Hibberd also ran laps early in the session, and Courtenay Dempsey boxed on the sidelines.

Despite the looming Court of Arbitration for Sport ruling into Essendon's drug saga still hanging over the Bombers' heads leading into Christmas, Heppell said the playing group was only focused on changing the perception of the club after a tumultuous period.

"We're just trying to drive a new culture, be really hard on each other and I guess prove that by our performances," he said.

"It all starts here in the pre-season and come the start of the year hopefully we can win some games of footy and that changes perceptions.

"Teams have obviously showed how quickly you can turn things around and we certainly don't think we're a 6-16 team either."

Heppell lauded Worsfold for driving elite standards and said that even though the coach was yet to deliver a severe dressing down to the players, he had no doubt 'Woosha' would be more than capable of unleashing a spray.

"No, I think he's easing into it. He's a very measured man, Woosha, we haven't copped too much from him," Heppell said.

"But I can imagine when push comes to shove he'll be able to give us a decent spray."

However, Worsfold delivered a spray of another kind on Tuesday when he gave his players a shock by turning on the sprinklers during their warm-up for a surprise 'wet-weather' session at the final open training session of the year.