Essendon captain Dyson Heppell has sung the praise of Dylan Clarke after he restricted Patrick Cripps to just 11 touches.

Playing his first game of the year, the 20-year-old blanketed the Carlton star while having 23 touches himself.

Speaking on 3AW Football post-match, Heppell lauded the work Clarke put into refining his tagging role during the week.

“It’s an outstanding job by him, he put a lot of homework throughout the week and he was really prepared for that role,” he said.

“He attacked it beautifully and executed it to a tee, I’m really proud of him actually.

“Dylan actually gets tagged in the VFL himself so he’s used to copping that close attention.

“I think we’ve found one in Dyl, if he can continue doing that for the team, it’s those selfless type players we love playing with.”

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