Essendon have confirmed that Brandon Goddard will captain the club in 2016 in the wake of the drugs scandal that saw previous captain Jobe Watson banned for 2016.
Watson along with 4 other players from the clubs 2015 leadership group are currently serving doping bans, including vice captain Dyson Heppell.
With speculation over whether Jobe Watson will return in 2017 there will be an argument that Goddard could remain in the captains position following this season.
Mark Baguley will be the clubs vice captain for the season.