AFL Player 7: Indefatigable Zach Merrett (c) Wins 6th Crichton Medal - Congratulations Zach

[Donakebab]

One of his worst efforts yet...

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-07-01/sliding-doors-round-15-2016-afl

If Zach Merrett isn't a very, very good player one day ... ... we'll be surprised. Tracking very, very nicely.

He already is a very, very good player you utter hack.

 

[Doss]

That's Damo trying his best not to give too much praise to anything Essendon related.

 

[BomberTime]

Stick to chasing ambulances Damo, you turd.

 

[doug85]

One of his worst efforts yet...

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-07-01/sliding-doors-round-15-2016-afl



He already is a very, very good player you utter hack.

Did Mick Malthouse write that?

 

[yodellinhank]

One of his worst efforts yet...

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-07-01/sliding-doors-round-15-2016-afl



He already is a very, very good player you utter hack.

Shouldn't that be "worst, worst efforts"?

 

[citizen-erased]

One of his worst efforts yet...

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-07-01/sliding-doors-round-15-2016-afl



He already is a very, very good player you utter hack.

im not clicking
is it too hard for him to wiki the concept, then take a writing class or something.

 

[ScrappyCoCo]

Zacs 20 years old. He is the number 2 ranked player in the AFL dream team stats. Bloody amazing. Sits just behind Dangerfield.

 

[Despair]

Grats kid, well deserved.

 

[Paul_Barnard]

He'll be getting tagged this week, be interesting to watch his performance..

 

[eDPS]

He'll be getting tagged this week, be interesting to watch his performance..

Do they even have a tagger?

 

[daffo]

He'll still get the ball 30 times.

 

[eth-dog]

He'll be getting tagged this week, be interesting to watch his performance..

Why would you tag him when you know you can put Zaka off his game? No such guarantees with Zach.

Do they even have a tagger?

Mav Weller does a pretty good job.

 

[Yoda_]

Mav Weller does a pretty good job.

Has openly admitted to doing a good job across half forward.

 

[Paul_Barnard]

Why would you tag him when you know you can put Zaka off his game? No such guarantees with Zach

Might have something to do with zaka watching from the stands bud..

Do they even have a tagger?

Yeah the bloke who did a number on Danger and did well against Gaz last week.. Name escapes me..

 

[Milanista28]

One of his worst efforts yet...

http://www.afl.com.au/news/2016-07-01/sliding-doors-round-15-2016-afl



He already is a very, very good player you utter hack.

Another crack at the Dogs and Bevo as well haha. Guys a massive sook.

 

[eth-dog]

Might have something to do with zaka watching from the stands bud..



Yeah the bloke who did a number on Danger and did well against Gaz last week.. Name escapes me..

Keep on forgetting about that. Too tired.

 

[Milanista28]

Seb Ross tagged Danger couple weeks back, Not a hard tag though just at stoppages.

 

[eDPS]

Thought Mav Weller was just playing as defensive half forward but I don't really watch saints games much

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

Love this kid will captain the club one day.

Zach Merrett wants every WADA-banned Bomber to return in 2017 as Chris Judd takes him under his wing

LAUREN WOOD, Herald Sun
July 9, 2016 8:00pm

ZACH Merrett hopes there’s a live stream of Sunday’s game in Pamplona.

When he bursts off the wing, he wants his banned teammates including key defender Michael Hurley — in the Spanish city this week for the famed running of the bulls — to be watching.

When Merrett joined the Bombers at the end of 2013, the club’s Tullamarine headquarters was a regular stake-out destination for media who visited daily as heat on then-coach James Hird and the players involved in the saga grew.

For the young gun, it became normal to have journalists and cameras around daily.

In the absence of 12 of his teammates, Merrett has transformed into one of the team’s shining lights, but since that fateful morning of January 12 this year — when the dozen were banned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport — he is adamant that there has only been one focus.

Getting them back.

“I came when there was always cars and media out the front — I was just used to it. I’m looking forward to playing next year with nothing (no attention),” Merrett says.

Zach Merrett wants to play alongside each of the 12 banned Bombers next season. Picture: Hamish Blair

“All I was thinking was ‘how do we get those 12 guys back next year?’.

“Personally, I was head-down and a**-up, working as hard as I could to play as well as I could for the team which in turn hopefully would make the team go better, and in turn make those guys come back.

“My focus was solely on playing good footy so (the likes of) Dyson Heppell and Michael Hurley were seeing us play well and hoping that would make them want to come back.”

Merrett hates losing, and that’s what has made this year even harder.

He and teammate Joe Daniher made a pact — having both joined the club smack bang in the middle of the club’s doping drama — the duo determined to lead the club out of the mire.

Having been part of forming contingency plans six months prior, Merrett and Daniher went straight to the powers that be and let their intentions be known.

There was little other option than to flick the switch and go.

“Midway through last year, (Joe and I) got together with Dyson Heppell and started to form a bond that we were going to carry this club through for the next 10 years,” Merrett says.

“It formed before (the 12 players) got banned, but when they did, Joey and I got together and talked to the key stakeholders within the club and tried to plan out the future going forward.

“We put together a vision with John (Worsfold) and the top-up players. Joey and I have been the ones who are starting to take guys with us to try and build something towards the future.”

Zach Merrett has thrived this season in the absence of his banned teammates. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

With Heppell — now in Europe — not allowed to set foot on club property and Merrett promoted to the leadership group after five of its members were handed suspensions, there was no time to waste.

Enter Chris Judd.

Worsfold, as former Eagles coach, had the dual Brownlow medallist’s number handy and a fruitful mentoring relationship has blossomed, with the midfielder crediting Judd with helping him take the next step.

“I’ve asked him pretty much every question under the sun,” Merrett laughs.

“When the boys got suspended, I lost Dyson and a lot of other senior players like David Myers and Jobe (Watson). I didn’t want to miss out on a year of learning and development and leadership.

“I didn’t want to annoy (stand-in captain) Brendon Goddard too much as he’s got such a big role within the footy club, so I wanted to seek out someone external of the footy club who had no idea what was going on.

“Since February, we’ve caught up every two or three weeks for lunch and coffee and just chatted.

“He’s been fantastic. He’s probably a large part of why I’ve taken that next jump as a midfielder.”

Merrett’s line coach Guy McKenna says “Junior” — the younger Merrett, with brother Jackson also a Bomber — is “an old head on young shoulders” who drives standards well beyond his years.

Chris Judd has become a mentor for Zach Merrett this year thanks to coach John Worsfold. Picture: Wayne Ludbey

And, thanks to Judd, there’s “polish”.

“Most good players are 80 per cent there. They’re good because they want to be good,” McKenna said.

“They understand what they need to be good. Junior is low-maintenance. He’s so professional in what he does.

“The difference I’ve noticed since he’s been working with Judd is there’s just a bit of a polishing — just putting the tweaks on it and fast-tracking him into thinking like an elite player.”

Merrett said Judd has been particularly valuable on building a culture in a challenged and young group, with a tip or two along the way for a player who is the first to admit he tried a little too hard on arrival at Essendon.

“I felt like I had a point to prove with getting drafted,” he says.

“I wanted to earn the respect of the playing group and coaches as quickly as possible. My way of doing that was working hard and being here longer than anyone else. I got told to go home a couple of times by coaches, which was a weird feeling. That’s what’s built the framework towards my game going to the next level — doing the hard work beforehand.

“I’m not fixed yet.”

 

[DHepp21]

Love this kid will captain the club one day.

This is one of the only articles I've ever read that has made me tear up. What an absolute legend.

 

[Beerfish]

Gun. Dead. Set.

 

[MiguelM]

Only thing he needs to work on is field kicking, but a gun all the same.

 

[doug85]

Should be in the AA squad this year.

 

[eth-dog]

Jeez this boy can play.

 

[Autobahn]

Thank **** for cricket for masking his true football potential. And whatever Judd is teaching him - thank you.