Recommitted Zach Merrett [Re-Signed til 2027]

[robbo1981]

I reckon he'll end up at Port personally but we'll definitely ask the question of both him and Josh Kelly.

Hope your right M8 we have the cash but hopefully have enough to keep the young guns happy and land Merrett.

 

[chickentendies]

Have heard weird ass s**t from a good source that Port are very into Merrett and he's taking their offers into consideration. Honestly not really believing it because it just seems like such a left-field move.

 

[robbo1981]

Have heard weird ass sh*t from a good source that Port are very into Merrett and he's taking their offers into consideration. Honestly not really believing it because it just seems like such a left-field move.

Why is it a left field move?

 

[Northernsoul74]

Why is it a left field move?

There’s probably just a big assumption in Vic that he’d stay in Vic.

 

[robbo1981]

There’s probably just a big assumption in Vic that he’d stay in Vic.

Ok I read as it would be a left field move from port

 

[chickentendies]

There’s probably just a big assumption in Vic that he’d stay in Vic.

Spot on

Also my trusted source is C4[2]Yo`DooR

 

[Northernsoul74]

Spot on

Also my trusted source is C4[2]Yo`DooR

I saw he mentioned Port are interested and can offer him great cash early on. Do we know if Merrett is interested in Port?

 

[C4[2]Yo`DooR]

I saw he mentioned Port are interested and can offer him great cash early on. Do we know if Merrett is interested in Port?

No idea at this stage. His management did speak to Port last year, but I imagine there would be more suitors this time around given his FA status.

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

Unless we finish bottom 4 where we get a top 5 pick compo we will force a trade and the team interested will need to cough up trade currency

 

[TylerDurden]

Unless we finish bottom 4 where we get a top 5 pick compo we will force a trade and the team interested will need to cough up trade currency

You'll be getting a top 4 pick. Nothing surer.

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

You'll be getting a top 4 pick. Nothing surer.

I'm not so sure we could easily finish where we finished last season

 

[HairyO]

You'll be getting a top 4 pick. Nothing surer.

Really?

I literally have no clue how clubs will return to the regular length games.

 

[La Dispute]

Have heard weird ass sh*t from a good source that Port are very into Merrett and he's taking their offers into consideration. Honestly not really believing it because it just seems like such a left-field move.

There's going to be up to a dozen clubs very interested in acquiring Merrett - it's all going to come down to the contract and where he sees those clubs fitting long term.

Port might be a decent candidate, but they have to back up from next year and traditional Melbourne-based stars haven't made the move over to SA.

 

[HirdsTheWord]

I saw he mentioned Port are interested and can offer him great cash early on. Do we know if Merrett is interested in Port?

There is no doubt that Port amongst many other clubs will be going after Merrett, though I very much doubt he will leave VIC, if he does leave.

Has is ill relatives in VIC and is very family orientated, being that he doesn't need to leave VIC to get big cash offers I just don't see him leaving the state.

 

[Yoda_]

You'll be getting a top 4 pick. Nothing surer.

With a kissed on the dick injury run other clubs have been gifted in recent years, avoiding the bottom 4 should be easy enough.

For our list moving forward, getting a top 2 - 4 pick would be a good thing for Essendon.

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

Would be good but can still see us avoiding bottom 4. we haven't completely bottomed out yet the core of side is still made up of senior players which will be enough to avoid bottom 4 imo.

If the team was full of 18 year olds yeah mark us down for graunteed bottom 4

 

[Yoda_]

Would be good but can still see us avoiding bottom 4. we haven't completely bottomed out yet the core of side is still made up of senior players which will be enough to avoid bottom 4 imo.

If the team was full of 18 year olds yeah mark us down for graunteed bottom 4

That’s what people fail to acknowledge.

Whilst talent has left the club, the core of our side is still as good as any. It’s just the depth we have struggle to maintain and develop on.

I’m not suggesting we finish top 8, avoiding the bottom 2 should be an easy task if we have a clean injury run.


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[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

That’s what people fail to acknowledge.

Whilst talent has left the club, the core of our side is still as good as any. It’s just the depth we have struggle to maintain and develop on.

I’m not suggesting we finish top 8, avoiding the bottom 2 should be an easy task if we have a clean injury run.


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Yeah

I see us as refreshing the list rather than a full rebuild

 

[Wild Bill]

That’s what people fail to acknowledge.

Whilst talent has left the club, the core of our side is still as good as any. It’s just the depth we have struggle to maintain and develop on.

I’m not suggesting we finish top 8, avoiding the bottom 2 should be an easy task if we have a clean injury run.


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Your core is as good as the Tigers, Cats, Bris and Port?

You won 2 of your last 12 games - 1 by 3 points over the wooden spoon team. Every team has injuries.

 

[BOMBERS 4 LIFE!!!!]

Your core is as good as the Tigers, Cats, Bris and Port?

You won 2 of your last 12 games - 1 by 3 points over the wooden spoon team. Every team has injuries.

Agree every team has injuries but I would say Pies and Essendon cop it the hardest on the injury front compared to the rest of the comp

 

[Laphroaig]

Agree every team has injuries but I would say Pies and Essendon cop it the hardest on the injury front compared to the rest of the comp

Supporters of every club believe that their Club has more injuries.

I picked a handful of weeks from 2021 and Essendon (and Collingwood) were both very middle of the road injury wise. 9 or 10 out in a given week is neither ahead of the pack or behind it.

Of course when this is pointed out most supporters instantly go onto but our injured players are better than your injured players. The reality is that if a Club thinks their injured players are hurting them more, then the truth is that the club has s**t depth.

I can't be arsed doing a count, but my gut is that Adelaide have been screwed by injury way more than anyone else the past two years. Richmond probably second worst. Go figure.

 

[Wild Bill]

Supporters of every club believe that their Club has more injuries.

I picked a handful of weeks from 2021 and Essendon (and Collingwood) were both very middle of the road injury wise. 9 or 10 out in a given week is neither ahead of the pack or behind it.

Of course when this is pointed out most supporters instantly go onto but our injured players are better than your injured players. The reality is that if a Club thinks their injured players are hurting them more, then the truth is that the club has sh*t depth.

I can't be arsed doing a count, but my gut is that Adelaide have been screwed by injury way more than anyone else the past two years. Richmond probably second worst. Go figure.

Correct - to best 22 players injured they ranked with the Cats. Behind the Roos, Freo, Pies, Dogs and Blues.

But injuries seem worse the worse the performances get.

 

[Lore]

Supporters of every club believe that their Club has more injuries.

I picked a handful of weeks from 2021 and Essendon (and Collingwood) were both very middle of the road injury wise. 9 or 10 out in a given week is neither ahead of the pack or behind it.

Of course when this is pointed out most supporters instantly go onto but our injured players are better than your injured players. The reality is that if a Club thinks their injured players are hurting them more, then the truth is that the club has sh*t depth.

I can't be arsed doing a count, but my gut is that Adelaide have been screwed by injury way more than anyone else the past two years. Richmond probably second worst. Go figure.

Our injured players are better than your injured players though

Losing the core of your 22, key leaders, or lynch pin types that your game plan revolves around can certainly be painful. It's a good reason actually for developing formal leadership groups and not just a captain and a vice captain, and developing a systematic game plan so the next soldier can take the place of the one that went down with injury, rather than just relying on raw talent.

The better metric is probably the number of career games on the side lines at any given time. Essendon weren't the worst on that scale (losing a lot of your experienced players to retirement and having players so perpetually injured that they never gain the experience doesn't really help either on that score), but in general we were just s**t and our playing group seemed to lose the plot without a system or a firm hand to guide them.

At any rate, a lot has changed at Essendon over the last few months, and 2021 will be a very different beast than what 2020 was (not sure if better or worse, but definitely different).

Half the defenders are training as forwards, half the forwards are now training back, there's new players, the leadership group looks a lot different (again) too, with Zach also back in it. New coaches, new GM-footy, new president. The Crows are after our CEO too. Things have been restructured due to the financial situation of course, but things seem to be a lot more structured and supportive with clearer standards and expectations, a clearer vision of what we're trying to achieve, and a plan to get there. All things Merrett thrives off.

We won't know for a while whether it improves us, but whatever the year brings I'd expect that to form the basis of Merrett's decision to stay or leave Essendon. If Rutten's tenure looks like more paddling up s**t creek, he may choose to look for some other Victorian club that offers a better chance of team success, an opportunity to captain, and a decent set up that challenges him to be the best he can be. Money is unlikely to be an issue no matter where he ends up, as long as it's reasonable.

 

[aussierulesrules]

Sounds like Stringer has ongoing Achilles issues which means he's out indefinitely, and I think it was Hurley who's still well short of fully fit as well, and perhaps Zaha has an issue as well, while Heppell is going to play HB to protect his foot as much as possible, so the likelihood of Essendon having a good injury run this year is looking very slim.

A bad injury run and bottom 4 looks very likely.

 

[aussierulesrules]

Supporters of every club believe that their Club has more injuries.

I picked a handful of weeks from 2021 and Essendon (and Collingwood) were both very middle of the road injury wise. 9 or 10 out in a given week is neither ahead of the pack or behind it.

Of course when this is pointed out most supporters instantly go onto but our injured players are better than your injured players. The reality is that if a Club thinks their injured players are hurting them more, then the truth is that the club has sh*t depth.

I can't be arsed doing a count, but my gut is that Adelaide have been screwed by injury way more than anyone else the past two years. Richmond probably second worst. Go figure.

Adelaide hit by injuries way more than anyone else in the last two years!?

It was either last season or the one before where they were probably hit the least by injuries of any team.

Doubt they'd even be in the 10 hardest hit over those two years.