AFL Player 7: Indefatigable Zach Merrett - Stepping down as captain for 2026

[fishardansin]

I just can't see anyone offering a similar deal for a 31 year old that's going to be a UFA the year after. You might convince someone to part with a 2027 F1 easily because Tasmania's picks will dilute the draft pool a lot, the pick we get might end up being late 20s. I cannot see much else being thrown in on top of that 2027 F1 though.

At this point we may as well double down and keep him until his contract expires in 2027. Maybe the chance to play with Koby will change his mind.

He's likely to be a 7-time best and fairest winner with an almost injury-free career who is capable of pushing for AA for another 3 seasons after next year, and be a solid contributor for longer. Put him in a strong team with good inside mids and quality forwards, and he will be massive. He is easily worth a top 10 pick next year and a future 1st to help us get Bewick. We'll also have a bunch of optimism (hopefully) from a healthy list, and can have a real crack at some of the free agents available. We don't need anymore picks this year. Even ignoring the perception of this year's draft pool we have added a lot of players in last 2 years and will do again this year. We want to be adding a 4 or 5 next year and the year after. I don't like the idea of putting all out eggs in the one draft.

 

[Westlo]

Hopefully we can **** him off next year to Gold Coast for Humphries.

Upset at stringer being moved on and had his head turned by saints last year, now upset about Laverde and pulled this bullshit with the hawks.

Looking forward to him somehow being upset Gresham isn't renewed next year while demanding a trade to North.

 

[thepokey]

Surely he himself gives up the captaincy without even being tapped on the shoulder for it .. I mean, you'd hope so anyways

 

[Mikevk123]

I'd have thought that three extra cracks at the top 25 kids in the country ahead of the Tassie drafts would have been a pretty good reason to get the deal done.

Can’t just play a whole lot of kids without leaders on field. Then you end like North Melbourne.

 

[bommer16]

So many haw supp (and a few opp supp) caring wayyyyy too much what happens by efc retaining a CONTRACTED Merrett.
They just need to take a breath and focus on what their own clubs are doing/not doing.
I mean we know what haw didn’t do..

 

[Phone]

If he has an AA season in 2026 I'd be very surprised if there wasn't at least a first rounder on offer. And he will still be contracted so if we get low-balled again ,we aren't obliged to trade him then.If he then leaves at end of 2027 we will get free agency compo. And will have had the services of our best and most experienced player for 2 further years. The downside is not massive.
It's possible he could throw the toys out of the cot and have a shocker next year. Would he do that and risk reducing his own future contract value?

There's probably a decent chance that free agency compo is looked at between now and then with some tweaks made, and even under the current system, a 32yo is pretty unlikely to get a contract offer that results in any real worthwhile compo

Carlton were offered a much better deal. That has to make it easier to accept.

They also knocked back the first and saw it improve to one they wanted.

Were they? The last Hawks offer was "three first-round draft picks – 10, 22, a first-rounder next year – and Henry Hustwaite" for nothing but Merrett. So the offer was three first rounders plus a player who has a question mark over them but if they were to succeed, really works well with our time-line as opposed to a bit of an older player.

Carlton in the end got "three first-round picks (in 2025, 2026 and 2027) & Will Hayward" for Curnow and three second round picks, two this year and one in 2027. So Carlton had to give the Swans back some things to get their "much better deal". I dare say if we were handing back three second-round picks, the final Hawks offer may have been different. In any case, Essendon fans have just spent 6 weeks saying pick 9 isn't really even that good so obviously pick 11 is slightly worse, and then 2 first rounders including the 2027 Tassie draft for a team that will be hoping, with Curnow in tow, to be going deep into September. Again people have been writing off Hawthorn's 2026 and 2027 first round picks on the basis that they may be going deep into September too, so that kind of seems to be a wash to me. So, really, to get the better deal, they had to trade three second rounders for Hayward, who is a nice little player indeed, but probably only ever going to be a good B grade player. I don't really see that much of a better deal here.

Obviously our reported want (below) was never going to be offered by the Hawks but trying to get another second round pick instead of offering up some of own 2nd round picks I think just serves to support my original point that Carlton were willing to trade Curnow and we weren't interested in trading Merrett, which obviously the club said from day 1

Essendon wanted four first-round draft picks and a future second-round pick from Hawthorn to even entertain trading Zach Merrett, which was a price too high for the Hawks and left the Bombers now trying to repair relations with their disenfranchised captain.

The move that never happened highlights a trade deadline day for the ages

The Bombers are left to repair their relationship with disenchanted skipper Zach Merrett after they held their ground as the trade deadline expired. Here are the biggest moves that happened on deadline day.

www.smh.com.au

 

[bulldogs201616]

Well done Essendon made a statement today. F**K Hawthorn

 

[Phone]

Can’t just play a whole lot of kids without leaders on field. Then you end like North Melbourne.

jack steele got traded for a future 3rd. could have easily picked him up in the event of a Merrett trade.

 

[sregit]

Good on you Bombers, you backed your president and did not fold to pressure. A United management, president down sets a good example. Successful clubs have a good management teams that stick fat. Your club has set a good precedence in that you didn’t fold and let Merrett go for the pennies thrown by the Hawks. You have plenty of draft capital going forward, use it wisely and stay the course. Keep going to the draft. The club is more important than the player. Merrett will be back in the preseason and this will blow over.

Bombers finally standing up!

 

[Call Me Cake]

#15 + #25 + F#21 and Henrywho? is not the point of difference that warranted us moving away from what we were already on. None of it was going to move the needle on our future. Simple as that. Proud of the club for setting a precedent on BS.

 

[thepokey]

Its crazy how all it takes is Hawthorn stepping up as the true villain to bring a few old rivals together here. Warms you heart!

 

[Bjchan13]

 

[fishardansin]

View attachment 2458172

They are melting down over there.

 

[fishardansin]

StackedHunch really needs to move on with his life.

 

[thepokey]

View attachment 2458172

Mass exodus, club in turmoil!

 

[Chucks]

They are absolutely melting, it’s beautiful to read

 

[outersanctum]

Now it all depends on whether merrett bounces back. I suspect not.

I think we missed an opportunity but hope zach proves me wrong and recommits to the clubs vision.

 

[DonsRule]

I am guessing little this too is a case of where Essendon rated this draft. If it was a very strong draft they maybe accept the offer.

It sounded like the Hawks tried moving pick 9 into next year to try and suit Essendon but there are no takers which left them in a hard place.

I am curious a little if we saw lots of options around picks 10-30 as a very strong draft would we accept the offer

 

[JayJ20]

[PLAYERCARD]Blake Hardwick[/PLAYERCARD] and Nick Watson running their mouth and trying to call us a prison. I feel much better about Merrett staying so those flogs don't win a premiership.

 

[windyhill]

So which club/captain does Mitchell next **** over ?

 

[Unfazed]

Splitting 9 into 10 and 22 and trying to pass 22 off as a frp was never going to work.

 

[JayJ20]

Huss has a chance to do the funniest thing imaginable in 2026 and become a gun best 22 player

So apparently Hustwaite can stick it to us because the club that didn't play him and didn't value him enough by putting him on the trade table didn't get the player they wanted instead.

But apparently we disrespected Hustwaite by rejecting their trade offer. A lot of copium on their board.

 

[bomberlegend2007]

Hawthorn had 10 days to put in an offer. During this time, they did nothing but try to drive his value down alongside Merrett’s manager.

Then, with a day and a half to go, they prepare an offer that was complete shit.

Essendon throughout has been strong with the messaging. Give us an established player alongside the trade and we will come to the table.

Hawthorn and Merrett didn’t get another club involved. They didn’t offer early to try and find middle ground.

They lowballed and expected our club just to ****ing take it.

Our club has done the right thing here. Try again next year.

 

[jannissary]

So apparently Hustwaite can stick it to us because the club that didn't play him and didn't value him enough by putting him on the trade table didn't get the player they wanted instead.

But apparently we disrespected Hustwaite by rejecting their trade offer. A lot of copium on their board.

they’ll continue melting about how they didn’t actually want him

 

[bomberlegend2007]

On the flip side of this, say Merrett wins another B+F, which is probs going to happen.

Say also, Hawthorn go backwards.

What would the deal look like this time next year?

It won’t be the same, but perhaps in our eyes, we will be getting less picks in a better draft, alongside a pick in the 27 draft.

There is simply no way his value plummets.