Retired Daniel Merrett (2002-2016)

[Old Den]

I saw him gift two goals to the opposition with his attempt to mark the ball and with an errant kick so he needs a boot up the bum from Leppa who was the best 'punch' in the business and Daniel needs to concentrate on being a backman and not on the pretty side of his game as that's his weakness.

This worked for Kevin Sheedy who ended up one of the best coaches ever. Tommy Hafey used to tell Kevin "kick long, don't kick short" and Sheeds used to put notes on the ceiling, on his walls, everywhere with the simple message so he didn't lairise during the game and did the disciplined things. This sort of game plan made Leppa our most valuable player during the Golden Era no matter what argument you put up.

Leppa played as a forward,and a beauty too, until Leigh came to the club and was quite an experienced player dating right back to his junior days i'm thinking,when he went to CHB

Mal was the punching king I would have thought and I seem to remember Daniel topped the comp last year in punch spoils - Leppa marked a lot and ran out of defence and he sure could run


Merrett was a late starter in the game and IMO will keep improving for another 5 years and then be SOME player - It's obvious from this that I am an avid Dan Merrett fan

 

[Grimreepah]

Nathan Thompson has had a very consistent year kicking 2 goals or more in every game bar one, but against Big Red he just couldn't get near it.

 

[Grimreepah]

Link

Thompson did not shy away from admitting he produced a poor effort in the 31-point loss to the Lions. Thompson was held goalless and could only manage three kicks and one mark for the game.
"You've got to be honest about your own performance and I know it was below par," he said.
"More to the point, I think I was beaten by a very good opponent."

 

[Dylan12]

I am still not sure what big Rog has to do before he is ever selected in Matt Burgan's Team of the Week on afl.com.au. Hugely underrated and still surprised he receives little fanfare down in Melbourne...makes you wonder whether the media even knows who he is!

 

[dmac_55]

There was a pretty random photo of Merrett in the Advertiser with Mark Shwarzer from the socceroos... There was actually no write up to it, just a caption comparing the socceroos defence to the lions..

Merrett was holding a soccerball and Shwarz was holding a footy..

Quite weird actually

 

[dlanod]

I am still not sure what big Rog has to do before he is ever selected in Matt Burgan's Team of the Week on afl.com.au. Hugely underrated and still surprised he receives little fanfare down in Melbourne...makes you wonder whether the media even knows who he is!

Get 25-30 cheap possessions and provide some run off half-back. I'm pretty sure it's always the running defenders for the week that get picked.

 

[chopperduck]

i thought it was picked based on supercoach points earned for burgans team

 

[Grimreepah]

Link

If Pavlich fires, the Dockers are likely to at least push the in-form Lions. And Gold Coast product Daniel Merrett -- who will get first crack at the Fremantle captain -- believes shutting him down is a two-man job."He's a super athlete, very fit, he's fast and a good mark, so we will probably have to share the match-up on him because he's such a good player," said Merrett.
"I just have to make sure I get the body right and be ready for the weekend."
The burly Lions full-back said playing on Pavlich is always taxing due to his aerobic capacity.
Like Richmond champion Matthew Richardson, Pavlich often travels up the ground.
And Merrett said: "He leads up, and in those cases I tend to hold back and someone else will play on them."
"Generally that is our plan with him."

 

[Grimreepah]

The reverse Coleman

THE LEAKING LADS
PLAYER CLUB GAMES GC AVE
Michael Firrito (N Melb) 12 38 2.67
Brian Lake (W Bull) 12 30 2.50
Josh Gibson (N Melb) 9 29 3.22
Nathan Brown (Coll) 12 29 2.42
Will Thursfi eld (Rich) 11 28 2.55
Darren Glass (W Coast) 12 28 2.33
Daniel Merrett (Bris) 12 27 2.25
Nathan Carroll (Melb) 7 26 3.71
Antoni Grover (Frem) 10 26 2.60
Toby Thurstans (Port) 11 26 2.36
Paddy Ryder (Ess) 12 26 2.17

I think he had about 36 goals kicked on him last year, so Merrett is conceding more goals per game this year.

 

[Hollow Knight]

The reverse Coleman



I think he had about 36 goals kicked on him last year, so Merrett is conceding more goals per game this year.

Have to factor in the tough draw to date.

Considering he generally takes the big gun opposition forwards week after week, 2.25 goals a week is pretty fricken good.

 

[Grimreepah]

Merrett also leads the comp in 1%ers and I think spoils too.

 

[dlanod]

His element of surprise is a lot less this year, so it was always going to be higher. As he gets better in the role, it should drop back down hopefully. He also loses a little more often than some by the team letting him win one on one with his opponent, instead of constantly having the second man there.

 

[campbell]

I wonder if he will get Tippet this week. A good local talent, but not this week.lol.

 

[Grimreepah]

Link

Lions defender itching for another shot at Hall

Brisbane Lions defender Daniel Merrett says he will be disappointed if Sydney forward Barry Hall is still sidelined when the teams meet in round 22.
Hall has been stood down indefinitely by the Swans, after he was suspended for one match for attempting to strike Shane Wakelin last weekend.
Merrett says Hall's physical approach makes him one of the league's best forwards and he'd love to face him in the last round of the season.
"Personally it probably would [be a disappointing], I think he's got me the last couple of times," he said.
"So I've got that urge to have another crack at him and hopefully get on top of him this time."
"They [Sydney] always seem to play better when he's there."

 

[Grimreepah]

Link

Matthews praised the work of Jamie Charman and fill-in ruckman and regular full-back Daniel Merrett, and said some calculated risk-taking around the stoppages had paid dividends.

"We thought if Will Minson wasn’t playing forward tonight it would be hard to find a match-up for Daniel as the Bulldogs tend to present a very medium-sized forward line," Matthews said.

"We picked Daniel to ruck against Minson and I thought Jamie was pretty solid tonight too.

It was interesting to see that when Merrett came on in the 2nd quarter we won our first clearance and then next couple after that.

I imagine the plan was that this would be just a matchup against the Dogs, but he went well enough that they would have to consider it again for next week.

 

[Grimreepah]

Link

Merrett back to familiar haunts
By Simon White
9:44 AM Tue 19 August, 2008

IT IS A little like enthusiastically jumping out of the frying pan into the fire, but Brisbane Lions defender Daniel Merrett is looking forward to returning to his regular spot in the goal-square for the last two rounds of the season.

Without an obvious match-up for his burly full-back, Lions coach Leigh Matthews chose to use Merrett as a pinch-hitting ruckman in the crucial 11-point win over the Western Bulldogs on Saturday.

And while Matthews hasn't ruled out re-visiting that scenario this week, Merrett has started the week preparing for another showdown with Carlton full-forward and Coleman Medal chance Brendan Fevola.

After that, he looks likely to renew acquaintances with Sydney Swans star Barry Hall in round 22.

"It was good to play up the ground a bit and be a bit more involved in play, even though I probably wasn't ever going to be the most attacking ruckman," Merrett told lions.com.au.

"But I'll be pretty happy to go down back again this week if that's what ends up happening.

"I've had a nice freshen-up but the challenge of playing on the really good forwards is something I set myself for, and Fevola is definitely one of them."

Merrett's preparation for Fevola and then Hall is likely to comprise plenty of time studying DVDs of both players in action.

Each is strong on the lead and in the air, not to mention in fine form. Fevola kicked six goals, including five in the first half, against North Melbourne on Sunday, while Hall booted five majors against reigning premier Geelong.

"I've played on Fevola a few times now and with him it's all about getting your starting points right," Merrett explained.

"With different players you have different starting points – some you'll look to start behind, others in front and there are probably some you try to stand pretty much side-by-side with.

"With the way Carlton can move the ball so quickly, it's massively important to have your starting points on Fevola spot on.

"I'll be watching a few tapes of him over the next couple of days to help with that."

The Lions' trailed until three-quarter time against the Bulldogs but surged home on the back of a five goals to two last quarter.

Merrett says the nature of the victory – the Lions had previously given up late leads against Melbourne, Richmond and North Melbourne – and its importance made for one of the most memorable wins of his 66-game career.

With two rounds to play, the ninth-placed Lions are only one game and a touch more than one percentage point behind eighth-placed St Kilda, which takes on the red-hot Adelaide this weekend.

"It was right up there with our best wins, I'd have to say," Merrett said.

"Obviously it was a big game for us and we'll take a fair bit of confidence out of it into the last couple of rounds.

"Also the way we came from behind and managed to get a couple of goals ahead and stay there was a real positive.

"The couple of losses we've had where we led with only a couple of minutes left were really disappointing and pretty heartbreaking in the way they happened."

 

[T Rick]

Merrett does NOT have enough mongrel. I don't believe he has what it takes.

 

[Tassie4ever]

Merrett is one big unit- can run and jump with the best of them. What he can't do is use his very large body to advantage.

Someone appears to have told him that all he has to do to be successful is to punch away. No, that's not all- he should use the big physique to scatter the smaller units, instill a bit of fear factor, let Fev [or whoever] know that if they get a kick this is going to seriously upset him.

IMO, we have built this bloke up well beyond his capabilities. Watching Mal Michael even on one leg makes you realise what a complete footballer should be.

 

[Grimreepah]

Alastair Lynch

Daniel Merrett has played virtually the entire year at fullback with a broken hand and has been rarely beaten.

 

[Grimreepah]

Link

Matthews was understandably matter-of-fact at his post-game press conference."It’s a long time before you play again, but there's not much positive to take out of round 22," he said.
"I don’t think anyone could think we were anything but average on our performance tonight."
However, Matthews did single out Daniel Merrett, who kept Barry Hall to just one goal for the night, for a mention.

Link

Daniel only Lion of merit
Nick Smart and AAP
September 1st, 2008

GOLD Coast product Daniel Merrett provided the only ray of sunshine for Brisbane as the Lions' season -- which had promised so much -- mercifully came to an end on Saturday night.

The 63-point loss to the Swans at the SCG capped off a horror final month which saw the Lions tumble from genuine contenders to also-rans.

Much like the past fortnight, it was another dirty night out for Brisbane.

But Merrett held his head high, keeping star Sydney full-forward Barry Hall to just one goal.
Local, national AFL news

In fact, Merrett was the only player singled out by Lions coach Leigh Matthews for specific praise.

 

[dlanod]

Alastair Lynch

All I can say to that is Merrett's insane, and damn impressive if that is the case.

 

[notting18]

All I can say to that is Merrett's insane, and damn impressive if that is the case.

A great player and bloke!

 

[Gabbatoir]

BROKEN HAND

And he still went the punch.

So impressed right now.

 

[Grimreepah]

2007 Review
Quigley's 2008 Review

2008 End of Season Review

For Daniel Merrett it was a year of consolidation after a breakthrough year in 2007. He played all 22 games and was fairly consistent throughout the year, but was probably not as good as last year, which is reflected in the fact that he dropped outside the top 10 in the Merrett-Murray medal.

Whereas last year he was excellent defensively there were times this year that he did look a little vulnerable. The offensive side of his game may have improved a fraction but is still a major weakness. His skills didn’t necessarily improve but he was better at knowing his limitations and playing the percentages. One area of improvement was in marking the ball. While he still led the league in spoils, he was more willing to back himself when had out-positioned his opponent. It was later revealed he had played most of the year with a broken hand.

Over the last couple of seasons Merrett has been one of our most important players, simply due to a lack of options who can play on the big forwards. But with the likes of Henderson and Tyler bulking up and getting ready for AFL action there is now a bit of cover in case he gets injured. There may even be a bit of competition for the fullback spot in the coming years.

1%ers - 150 (1st)
Contested Marks - 17 (4th)

 

[Grimreepah]

Link

Adcock, Merrett added to Lions leadership group
Article from:
Andrew Hamilton
December 05, 2008 11:00pm

THE generational change at Brisbane has continued with the appointment of Jed Adcock and Daniel Merrett to the leadership group.
Adcock, 23, and Merrett, 24, join former co-captains Luke Power and Simon Black as vice-captains to stand-alone skipper Jonathan Brown.

Merrett's rise to team leader is exceptional, but in many ways unavoidable because of circumstance.

Recruited as a project player after being a late starter to football, the flame-haired Gold Coaster had some tough early days.

Unlike Adcock, whose impact on the side was almost immediate, Merrett struggled to find a position in the side.

It wasn't until the departure of triple premiership fullback Mal Michael that the full-forward was switched to defence where he immediately became a key part of Leigh Matthews's young side.

Brisbane's defence is their least experienced division and Merrett was forced to assume a senior role after just a handful of games.

"It's flattering and it has come on pretty quickly," he said.

"But once I found my position in the team I started to feel more comfortable and probably expressed myself a bit more.

"I show leadership in defence, and that all started through needing to - there was no one else down there."