Recommitted Zach Merrett [UFA 2027] - Wanted a trade to Hawthorn, but it didn't get done

[Lore]

There we go, that's the clip:

 

[SSSSSS]

Why does Merrett look so cursed in a Hawks jumper.

He's a gun. I want him.

But my brain doesn't compute.

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

Bombers have spoken to Husswaite, and like Serong.

They can forget about Frenchy.

Both fringe players?

 

[Scotland]

wtf are you on about?

Dane Zorko was an AA in 2024 when Brisbane won the Premiership?

Not really sure what's the point on this post?

Making the AA side and winning 4 B&Fs in a row aren't one and the same. Jordan Clark made the AA side this year, he's not Freo's best player.

Point is Merrett is good but doesn't justify the sort of price Essendon would want to let him go. If Hawthorn are interested then Essendon would probably want Carlton's first round pick and then how much more on top of that? 2026 pick? More?

 

[Lore]

Making the AA side and winning 4 B&Fs in a row aren't one and the same. Jordan Clark made the AA side this year, he's not Freo's best player.

Point is Merrett is good but doesn't justify the sort of price Essendon would want to let him go. If Hawthorn are interested then Essendon would probably want Carlton's first round pick and then how much more on top of that? 2026 pick? More?

He has to actually want to leave first. It sounds awfully one-eyed to say that, I know, but we've also been through this with him before. He wants success... but he wants it here. He wants his team to be better. He wants the payoff for all the hard work. He wants to lead his team to the promised land. Leaving the club doesn't satisfy any but the first of these, and even then it's not a guarantee that any other club he joins would have success (though it's almost certainly a more likely prospect).

He's always said it's about team success, it's meaningless to take home individual awards. I don't know that winning a premiership would mean quite the same thing to him if he changed clubs. If I started barracking for Hawthorn next year and they won the premiership, as compared with the club I've followed all my life finally dragging it's arse out of the quicksand finally winning even a final, I'm pretty sure the latter would mean more to me. Obviously as a player it's a little different, but I don't think it's necessarily that different. I don't think you'd enjoy a Fremantle premiership anywhere near as much as a West Coast one, just because you followed them for a year would you? Aside from the ick factor of it being a big rivalry for half your life.

All that aside, we have to take note of the fact that Merrett is contracted for 2 more years. It's unlikely that the player himself will change much in 12 months. He'll be a year older, but 29 versus 30 ain't much when he's pretty durable and he will work hard and give his 110% the same as he always has, so his value is unlikely to tank and he'll still be contracted. Any club interested in picking him up would have to assume they'd get at least a couple of good years out of him, if not another decade. And Essendon doesn't really lose much by waiting in that respect.

So then the question becomes, what do we stand to gain by waiting? What potential deals are available this year versus next year, relative to the actual players available to be drafted with given picks, or that might be gettable from other clubs? Also with the possibility of Tasmania coming in and vacuuming up most of the picks at the end of 2027, at the same time that we will probably need to trade up the draft order to either draft or match a bid on Kobe Bewick, and if we want 2027 picks to make that happen how would we make it happen at the end of 2025 versus the end of 2026? What if a mid-season trade period comes in?

Could Brisbane field a better offer for him next year? Or Sydney, or GWS?

 

[Ants]

I'd be very happy if Merrett asked for a trade to a club with draft currency. The club needs to rebuild, and players like Draper, Merrett, Langford, Ridley, Parish leaving would actually get us started on something the club hierarchy has refused to do for 15 years.

 

[HirdsTheWord]

Making the AA side and winning 4 B&Fs in a row aren't one and the same. Jordan Clark made the AA side this year, he's not Freo's best player.

Point is Merrett is good but doesn't justify the sort of price Essendon would want to let him go. If Hawthorn are interested then Essendon would probably want Carlton's first round pick and then how much more on top of that? 2026 pick? More?

Any contracted player needs to be paid overs to break said contract? That's how it has always worked?

If Essendon would even consider it it would need to be 2 low first round picks, considering this years and next years draft picks are highly diluted.

IE Pick 8 is actually like pick 14.

Why would we trade our best player with 2 years left on his contract and shaft ourselves in the process? Just to be good blokes? Unsure of the thought process here.

 

[Ants]

Any contracted player needs to be paid overs to break said contract? That's how it has always worked?

If Essendon would even consider it it would need to be 2 low first round picks, considering this years and next years draft picks are highly diluted.

IE Pick 8 is actually like pick 14.

Why would we trade our best player with 2 years left on his contract and shaft ourselves in the process? Just to be good blokes? Unsure of the thought process here.

That same argument could have been applied to the Daniher deal in 2019, and making him stay worked out brilliantly for us....

I'm not saying we let Merrett go for peanuts. But if a good offer is made, we should take it. If Hawthorn offer pick #8 and their future first, even though we know those picks are likely to be #14 and #27 odd, I'd take that and use them for a rebuild. If Hawks throw in #26 happy to pay Merrett's entire future salary outstanding for 2026 and 2027.

 

[HeHateMe]

Any contracted player needs to be paid overs to break said contract? That's how it has always worked?

If Essendon would even consider it it would need to be 2 low first round picks, considering this years and next years draft picks are highly diluted.

IE Pick 8 is actually like pick 14.

Why would we trade our best player with 2 years left on his contract and shaft ourselves in the process? Just to be good blokes? Unsure of the thought process here.

My question is what single pick would it take then?

 

[HairyO]

Agree with age but they're just VFL staples.

Hustwaite is behind Newk, Worpel and Nash. If Merrett goes, who in Essendon is keeping a big body'd mid out?

Serong not being needed makes more sense. All Dodoro did for the last 20 years is recruit half back flankers.

 

[Scotland]

Any contracted player needs to be paid overs to break said contract? That's how it has always worked?

If Essendon would even consider it it would need to be 2 low first round picks, considering this years and next years draft picks are highly diluted.

IE Pick 8 is actually like pick 14.

Why would we trade our best player with 2 years left on his contract and shaft ourselves in the process? Just to be good blokes?

You're not getting two low first round picks for Merrett.

Lachie Neale went for 6 and an upgrade of 30 to 19. Izak Rankine went for 5. Grundy went for 27. Port effectively gave up 8 and a future first for Horne-Francis. Taranto 12 and 19. Bailey Smith 17. Rioli 6 and 23. Etc.

Trade him, don't trade him - really makes no difference to me. But he turns 30 this year. The idea that teams are going to be lining up with Godfather offers is a bit fanciful. Your best bet is to trade with St Kilda and hope they give you this year's first and next, because at least one of those picks starts top 10. I assume he's not interested in going to Carlton because why would you?

We got a first, second, third from Hawthorn for Tom Barrass knowing that they finished 6th and were aiming to contend again this year so the best of those picks would likely be 10-20. That's the reality of trading established players to contenders. You might get multiple firsts but they aren't going to be pick 5.

 

[JayJ20]

That same argument could have been applied to the Daniher deal in 2019, and making him stay worked out brilliantly for us....

I'm not saying we let Merrett go for peanuts. But if a good offer is made, we should take it. If Hawthorn offer pick #8 and their future first, even though we know those picks are likely to be #14 and #27 odd, I'd take that and use them for a rebuild. If Hawks throw in #26 happy to pay Merrett's entire future salary outstanding for 2026 and 2027.

Difference is Daniher was OOC and a FA the next year. Merrett is contracted until end of 2027. We don't need more picks this year especially if we get Band 1 for Draper in a weak and compromised draft.

 

[HirdsTheWord]

That same argument could have been applied to the Daniher deal in 2019, and making him stay worked out brilliantly for us....

I'm not saying we let Merrett go for peanuts. But if a good offer is made, we should take it. If Hawthorn offer pick #8 and their future first, even though we know those picks are likely to be #14 and #27 odd, I'd take that and use them for a rebuild. If Hawks throw in #26 happy to pay Merrett's entire future salary outstanding for 2026 and 2027.

Not really disagreeing.

But i don't think Hawks future first is enough to get a deal done.

I think 14 + 27 is closer to peanuts for Merrett than it isn't.

 

[HirdsTheWord]

You're not getting two low first round picks for Merrett.

Lachie Neale went for 6 and an upgrade of 30 to 19. Izak Rankine went for 5. Grundy went for 27. Port effectively gave up 8 and a future first for Horne-Francis. Taranto 12 and 19. Bailey Smith 17. Rioli 6 and 23. Etc.

Trade him, don't trade him - really makes no difference to me. But he turns 30 this year. The idea that teams are going to be lining up with Godfather offers is a bit fanciful. Your best bet is to trade with St Kilda and hope they give you this year's first and next, because at least one of those picks starts top 10. I assume he's not interested in going to Carlton because why would you?

We got a first, second, third from Hawthorn for Tom Barrass knowing that they finished 6th and were aiming to contend again this year so the best of those picks would likely be 10-20. That's the reality of trading established players to contenders. You might get multiple firsts but they aren't going to be pick 5.

I don't think they both need to be low, IE both top 10.

But considering the dilution, i'm not trading him for what amounts to Pick 14 and Pick 20 + next year, think it needs to be better than that IMO.

Not with 2 years left on his deal anyway.

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

Merret is the type imo that wouldn't go unless it's a super deal for Essendon

 

[Scotland]

I don't think they both need to be low, IE both top 10.

But considering the dilution, i'm not trading him for what amounts to Pick 14 and Pick 20 + next year, think it needs to be better than that IMO.

Not with 2 years left on his deal anyway.

Who do you think is going to offer you better than that?

He's nearly 30, he's not going to Richmond or West Coast.

 

[HirdsTheWord]

Who do you think is going to offer you better than that?

He's nearly 30, he's not going to Richmond or West Coast.

i dont think the teams he will want to go to, can offer it.

Thats why i dont think a deal gets done.

 

[Sonny Hayes]

Any contracted player needs to be paid overs to break said contract? That's how it has always worked?

If Essendon would even consider it it would need to be 2 low first round picks, considering this years and next years draft picks are highly diluted.

IE Pick 8 is actually like pick 14.

Why would we trade our best player with 2 years left on his contract and shaft ourselves in the process? Just to be good blokes? Unsure of the thought process here.

Because he isn’t going to be around when Essendon are next contending, he’s one of the few older players you have with currency and because keeping him when he doesn’t want to be there isn’t ideal either.

 

[Scotland]

i dont think the teams he will want to go to, can offer it.

Thats why i dont think a deal gets done.

So why entertain it if it's not realistic? I would like St Kilda's first for Liam Ryan but he's not worth that. Best case in that particular instance is some kind of pick swap where we advance 5 or 6 spots.

Hawthorn could in theory offer picks 8 and 26, and a future first. As historical trades go that's pretty good. There aren't many players traded for more than that, and rarely are 30 year olds traded for anywhere near that. So you could look for a deal like that, or you could keep Merrett and then in two years either re-sign him again or let him go and get band 3 or 4 FA compo. Either way Hawthorn will win more games than Essendon in 2026 and 2027.

 

[Donflicted]

So why entertain it if it's not realistic? I would like St Kilda's first for Liam Ryan but he's not worth that. Best case in that particular instance is some kind of pick swap where we advance 5 or 6 spots.

Hawthorn could in theory offer picks 8 and 26, and a future first. As historical trades go that's pretty good. There aren't many players traded for more than that, and rarely are 30 year olds traded for anywhere near that. So you could look for a deal like that, or you could keep Merrett and then in two years either re-sign him again or let him go and get band 3 or 4 FA compo. Either way Hawthorn will win more games than Essendon in 2026 and 2027.

Respectfully i know its an example but we would be silly not to take that in my opinion

 

[Scotland]

Respectfully i know its an example but we would be silly not to take that in my opinion

We also don't know if they would offer that anyway. They just happen to be a club in the top 6 that has a top 10 pick. Would be lucky to get one first out of Geelong.

 

[JayJ20]

So why entertain it if it's not realistic? I would like St Kilda's first for Liam Ryan but he's not worth that. Best case in that particular instance is some kind of pick swap where we advance 5 or 6 spots.

Hawthorn could in theory offer picks 8 and 26, and a future first. As historical trades go that's pretty good. There aren't many players traded for more than that, and rarely are 30 year olds traded for anywhere near that. So you could look for a deal like that, or you could keep Merrett and then in two years either re-sign him again or let him go and get band 3 or 4 FA compo. Either way Hawthorn will win more games than Essendon in 2026 and 2027.

We're actually not interested in trading Merrett though. If he wants to request for a trade, we don't have to trade him.

This idea that he gave us 12 years of no success and that we somehow have to accept anything a rival club offers us is bogus.

He is our captain and best player by a mile. If a club approaches, then it's up to them to satisfy us.

 

[HirdsTheWord]

Because he isn’t going to be around when Essendon are next contending, he’s one of the few older players you have with currency and because keeping him when he doesn’t want to be there isn’t ideal either.

Who gives a shit lol?

There's zero point letting good players leave under contract without getting good value from it of them. You would be happy with your club doing that?

On what planet is Essendon supposed to roll over and let our best player leave, with 2 years left on his contract and get shafted in the process? Just because he wants to? **** that.

I'm all for Merrett getting the success he wants, but we must get good value from him doing it.

 

[HirdsTheWord]

So why entertain it if it's not realistic? I would like St Kilda's first for Liam Ryan but he's not worth that. Best case in that particular instance is some kind of pick swap where we advance 5 or 6 spots.

Hawthorn could in theory offer picks 8 and 26, and a future first. As historical trades go that's pretty good. There aren't many players traded for more than that, and rarely are 30 year olds traded for anywhere near that. So you could look for a deal like that, or you could keep Merrett and then in two years either re-sign him again or let him go and get band 3 or 4 FA compo. Either way Hawthorn will win more games than Essendon in 2026 and 2027.

to be fair to you, 8, 26 and F1 is probably much more on the money than just 8 + F1.

I don't think we even bother answering the phone at 8 + F1. So i dont even think it will be entertained. if that's what it amounts too. The pick dilution is gross this year.

 

[Sonny Hayes]

Who gives a shit lol?

There's zero point letting good players leave under contract without getting good value from it of them. You would be happy with your club doing that?

On what planet is Essendon supposed to roll over and let our best player leave, with 2 years left on his contract and get shafted in the process? Just because he wants to? **** that.

I'm all for Merrett getting the success he wants, but we must get good value from him doing it.

Because he’s 30 and good value is two good picks which middle firsts are.

You aren’t getting kings ransom for him, if you want to waste his last years and find yourself in no mans land still in a few years suit yourself.

 

[Sonny Hayes]

to be fair to you, 8, 26 and F1 is probably much more on the money than just 8 + F1.

I don't think we even bother answering the phone at 8 + F1. So i dont even think it will be entertained. if that's what it amounts too. The pick dilution is gross this year.

It really isn’t