Should Essendon Trade Zach Merrett?

The Case For Essendon Trading Zach Merrett

It is often said that the Chinese have the same word for crisis as they do for opportunity. While this isn’t actually the case, many in the media suggest that the supposed departure of Zach Merrett to Hawthorn is a massive crisis for the Essendon Football Club. However, this situation could actually present a fantastic opportunity for Essendon to accelerate their rebuild and commit to a new direction. This could ultimately lead to the success that Essendon fans have craved for so long.

Let’s acknowledge that this situation is not ideal. Zach has been our best player for nearly a decade. With his preparation, he could continue performing at a high level for another five years at least, well within the timeframe that Essendon would be looking to compete for flags. Losing him would be a setback to where we want to be heading.

However, as mentioned earlier, every crisis brings opportunity. There are just as many opportunities that would arise from Zach’s departure this year as there are problems.

As a player, it is unlikely that we would be able to replace Zach’s ball use immediately. That would hurt our side in the short term. But our reliance on Zach has meant that other players may have been missing out on opportunities. Elijah Tsatas does not have Zach’s ball skills, but he possesses other qualities that few players in the league have, especially his ability to win first possession of the ball. Zach’s departure opens up a space where we could utilize Tsatas’ abilities and change our approach. Similarly, we have been prioritizing ball use in the players we’ve drafted over the past couple of seasons. Players like Kako, Clarke, and Johnson all demonstrate a high ceiling in terms of ball skills. Losing Zach’s skill at this time might not impact us as significantly as it would have one or two seasons ago.

Zach certainly has many great qualities as a leader and captain. He sets training and preparation standards better than anyone at the club. He leads by example on the field every game and works hard defensively as well as offensively. In a different team, one that is competing at the highest level, Zach would be a perfect captain. However, our circumstances are very different. We are a young, developing squad that needs direct on-field leadership to aid in its development. For all his good qualities, I’m not sure Zach is the type of captain that will work best with this group. Zach has spoken about how his captaincy this year, with the number of young players that had to be integrated into the team, had to shift from focusing on performance to focusing on support, which seemed to be a challenge for him.

Compare this audio of Zach Mic’ed up in a game in 2023 to the way that Andy McGrath interacted with his young teammates when he took the reins in 2025 against St Kilda. A change in leadership styles could benefit our young squad and help accelerate our growth.

It’s not the first time that Zach has been tempted to leave the Bombers. As things have come out over the past few weeks, it seems that he has considered his future at the Dons in most years. Given where the club is, we need players who are fully committed and don’t constantly have one foot out the door. We also have the most leverage to get the best return for Zach that we will have at any stage for the remainder of his contract. Waiting until next year or even 2027, when the ability to maximize drafting and trading will be severely compromised by the entrance of Tasmania, will not serve the club well.

The draft capital we could gain for Merrett this year might allow us to trade up for West Coast’s pick 1, which there have been suggestions might be available. This could enable us to select Willem Duursma, the player in the draft pool with the most obvious A-Grade potential, while also maintaining draft capital to secure other top 10 picks in areas of need, such as Robey or Lindsay.

While there might be a temptation to hold Zach to his contract in the hope that things can turn around across the 2026 season, the reality is that the entire narrative around the Bombers will revolve around where Zach is at and whether he is going to leave at the end of 2026. This would create a media circus that would come up in every interview, press conference, and conversation with players, coaches, and administrators at the Bombers. With a young, developing list, this has the potential to derail an entire season and delay our growth as a side. It’s better to cut the cord now and create clean air for 2026 rather than having a wasted year where the focus is on Zach, not Essendon’s exciting young core.

Then there’s the impact on the rest of the playing group. It’s clear that the revelation that Zach had met with Mitchell hurt his teammates, as we saw with Redman, Martin, and McGrath’s comments in the media in the days following. Most of Zach’s close friends have already left the club, creating an even bigger gap between him and the rest of the playing group. The tension that Zach’s presence could create, based on his actions, might distract from what the team is trying to achieve. Every action of Zach’s and interaction with his teammates will be scrutinized. A successful year on the field could mask those cracks, but given where Essendon is coming from, that is unlikely. This provides a further distraction that does not benefit the club or the playing list in any way.

As much as I would like to stick it to the Hawks and not allow him to be traded, the reality is that making this painful experience as short as possible by trading Zach is vastly superior to letting it linger over the club for a season. As such, as long as the deal is reasonable and benefits Essendon, 2025 should be the last year that Zach Merrett pulls on the red and black. If the Bombers play their cards right, this could lead to something very special.

The Case Against Essendon Trading Zach Merrett

It’s been a very emotional time for Essendon fans since the revelation that our captain Zach Merrett had met with the coach of Hawthorn and was pushing for a trade to our arch-rivals. For many fans, it’s one of the biggest betrayals by a player that can be remembered. Many have already written Zach’s Essendon eulogy and cut the cord on that long-term relationship. However, the Essendon Football Club needs to make the best decision for them, not for Merrett and certainly not for the Hawks. This is why they cannot possibly trade Zach this off-season.

Let's start with the obvious. The club, across two presidents in the past few weeks, has explicitly stated that he is not for trade. While many might see this as a negotiating tactic, this is a line in the sand moment for the club. It’s a moment where we stop being pushed around and send a clear message about what the Essendon Football Club should be. Part of that is holding people to their word. Zach chose to take the security of a long-term deal. He accepted renegotiations of his contract that increased his pay. He chose to be the leader of this football club. That comes with expectations and responsibilities, and Essendon is well within its rights to hold Zach to the agreements he has signed.

Secondly, Essendon in 2025 was already one of the least experienced teams in the competition. With Goldstein, Shiel, and Laverde confirmed as departing, we face a serious lack of experienced players. We have seen with teams like North Melbourne how challenging it can be to recover when you cut your list too deep in terms of experience. If Merrett were to depart, just from the four players mentioned, that would mean 975 games of experience leaving the Bombers. It would also mean we wouldn’t have any player over 29 on the list. Teams that cut too deep often struggle to return to a competitive level. This is the danger we could face if we proceed with this trade.

Thirdly, as a fanbase, we have already lamented the lack of A-Grade talent on our list, especially compared to other teams. For many years, it’s been Zach and then daylight in terms of player quality at Essendon. There is no guarantee that any player on Essendon’s list will reach the same level of performance as Zach in the near term, especially with Nic Martin’s injury likely delaying his development until 2027 at the earliest. In the modern AFL era, the best players can maintain elite performance well into their 30s due to advancements in sports science and preparation. Zach is the type of player who can sustain this level of performance for three to four more years. You don’t improve by letting A-Grade talent walk out of your club.

Fourthly, Zach does not strike me as the type of player who will sulk if he is not traded. He is such a competitor that he would not allow himself to perform at anything less than his best if he remains at Essendon in 2026. It’s almost certain that he won’t be captain next year, but Zach’s best leadership traits have always been the standards he sets in terms of effort on the field and in training. He doesn’t need the C next to his name to provide leadership to the group. For our young side, having that example of how to approach the game is crucial for their development.

People will point to the last time we held a player who clearly wanted to be traded, with Essendon holding Joe Daniher to his contract in 2019 despite him wanting to go to Sydney. Daniher ultimately left at the end of 2020, resulting in less compensation than we could have received if we had traded him in 2019. There is a fear that this will happen again with Zach in 2026. However, there are enough differences in those circumstances to mean they are not actually similar. Joe’s desire to leave was influenced by injuries and wanting to escape the Melbourne bubble. Zach is rarely injured and wants to move to another Melbourne side, the opposite of Joe's situation. Importantly, when Joe wanted to move in 2019, he had only one year remaining on his deal. Zach has two years left and is not a free agent until 2027, when circumstances could be vastly different. Moreover, Joe’s final year played out in the COVID bubble, which exacerbated existing issues. The year 2026 (fingers crossed) won’t have that sort of external disruption, allowing us to turn things around, much like Sydney did with players like Ryan O’Keefe or Tom Papley. A year is a long time, and two years is even more time to change the fortunes of the club in a way that would encourage Zach to stay at the end of his contract.

Another consideration is the level of compensation that could be provided. Every player has a price, and I’m sure if someone rolled up to the Pies with a guarantee of the next five number 1 picks, they would consider trading Nick Daicos. But how can the Hawks satisfy the Bombers in any trade? As much as they want a player like Zach to boost their chances of winning a flag, he is worth far more to the Bombers for the reasons outlined above. Their current pick of number 8, which will be pushed back at least four or five spots depending on compensation picks and bids on NGA players, is in a weak draft. Their future firsts, if they perform as expected and with more NGA and Tasmanian picks in 2027, are likely to be mid-20s at best. The players from Hawthorn that we would want in compensation, which could move the needle for us, are likely off the table. Any trade probably needs a third party, but Essendon is already flush with picks in this draft. We would want players who project as top 50 in the comp over the next few years to replace Zach’s output. How many players like that would other clubs be willing to move on, and how many would be willing to come to Essendon? I expect that number is close to zero. Therefore, there’s almost no way for Essendon to have their expectations for any trade met, which means the best outcome for the Bombers is to keep Zach.

Even if a trade could be satisfied, we would be giving a side that, if things go well, is only a couple of years ahead of us in competing for a premiership. There’s a very real scenario where a Hawthorn pushing for flags faces a developing Bombers team aiming for premiership success in 2027 or 2028. Why would you give a team that you expect to face in a finals series your best player, thereby increasing their chances of progressing in the finals?

In essence, the decision not to trade Zach Merrett comes down to six words.

F** Hawthorn and F Sam Mitchel

Image Credit: Essendon Football Club

What do you think? Where do you stand on whether Zach should be traded or not?