Only my opinion, but it makes sense to me.
And me
On Merrett, and any other big name player, people seem to be ignoring the fact that these types of players very rarely move clubs. Merrett is in the leadership group at Brisbane, is no doubt well paid, and is a local from SE QLD, so you can't even use the old "surely he'd want to come home" line... As much as the Lions are struggling on the field, if it were me, you'd have to double my salary to make me leave all that behind, not to mention the nice warm Brissie weather
IMO, it will be the second tier players, those starved of opportunity, or money at their current clubs, who will be most likely to utilise free agency. Think Tuck, Foley etc, rather than Newman, Deledio types. That's why I'm a little nervous that Foley remains unsigned...