AFL Player # 7: Indefatigable Zach Merrett (c) - 5 time Crichton Medallist! 🏅🏅🏅🏅🏅

[Beerfish]

Contract Status: Unrestricted Free Agent 2027
My Boy Draft 2024: Pick 10, I Remember Bluey

 

[Halftimehero]

The only player to finish in the top 10 of the Coaches votes and not make the AA team, wasn’t even in the squad

 

[citizen-erased]

The only player to finish in the top 10 of the Coaches votes and not make the AA team, wasn’t even in the squad

could have snuck him into FP with Dusty rofl

 

[foj1]

The only player to finish in the top 10 of the Coaches votes and not make the AA team, wasn’t even in the squad

He has serious flaws in his game.
wins a lot of the footy but rarely hurts the opposition, imposes little physicality On the contest and his defensive actions are poor.
but he wins a lot of the ball
sorry gets alot of the ball

 

[Halftimehero]

He has serious flaws in his game.
wins a lot of the footy but rarely hurts the opposition, imposes little physicality On the contest and his defensive actions are poor.
but he wins a lot of the ball
sorry gets alot of the ball

Righto

 

[Halftimehero]

could have snuck him into FP with Dusty rofl

Or a wing where he actually played a lot rather than Macrae who never played there.

 

[foj1]

Righto

I don’t care if you have an opposing view but the depth of your reply is moronic

 

[doug85]

Or a wing here he actually played a lot rather than Macrae who never played there.

Nah Macrae actually did play on the wing at times this season.

 

[adonski]

Greetings all, I need your thoughts,

ZM is a great talent, but is he not actually a winger rather than an inside mid? Every time I watch Essendon play he strikes me as a player with excellent skills & finds space well for link up marks, but doesn't seem to love the rough stuff. I thought against us in the final round, this was evident.

Reminds me a bit of Lachie Hunter - but you guys always love him at the centre bounces. Reckon his worth is as an elite wing, rather than a good/very good inside mid.

Thoughts?

 

[Halftimehero]

I don’t care if you have an opposing view but the depth of your reply is moronic

Its been done to death in this very thread, it’s boring now.

 

[Craig Hutchie]

He has serious flaws in his game.
wins a lot of the footy but rarely hurts the opposition, imposes little physicality On the contest and his defensive actions are poor.
but he wins a lot of the ball
sorry gets alot of the ball

If he "rarely hurts opposition", why would opposition coaches rate him so high in the AFLCA votes?

 

[Lore]

Greetings all, I need your thoughts,

ZM is a great talent, but is he not actually a winger rather than an inside mid? Every time I watch Essendon play he strikes me as a player with excellent skills & finds space well for link up marks, but doesn't seem to love the rough stuff. I thought against us in the final round, this was evident.

Reminds me a bit of Lachie Hunter - but you guys always love him at the centre bounces. Reckon his worth is as an elite wing, rather than a good/very good inside mid.

Thoughts?

He's less head first after a couple of concussions over the last few years, and he's not your first in coalface type mid anyway. He's moved to a more outside role this year to give more midfield minutes to McGrath, Parish, etc.

Used to be a better user than he has been lately too, but that seems to be an epidemic at Essendon so I'm hoping it's more to do with chemistry and game plan than individual form.

Pretty sure he's not for sale, but knock yourself out.

 

[Halftimehero]

Nah Macrae actually did play on the wing at times this season.

4% of game time he did.....

 

[Mootsy]

Greetings all, I need your thoughts,

ZM is a great talent, but is he not actually a winger rather than an inside mid? Every time I watch Essendon play he strikes me as a player with excellent skills & finds space well for link up marks, but doesn't seem to love the rough stuff. I thought against us in the final round, this was evident.

Reminds me a bit of Lachie Hunter - but you guys always love him at the centre bounces. Reckon his worth is as an elite wing, rather than a good/very good inside mid.

Thoughts?

Too many on our list are played out of their natural position or we try and turn flankers/forwards into midfielders.

A perfect example is Hibberd and Clarke. Hibberd dominated the midfield in the VFL but was never played there, got delisted anyway.

 

[foj1]

If he "rarely hurts opposition", why would opposition coaches rate him so high in the AFLCA votes?

because they have a different opinion than me
and are way more qualified than me
but I reckon merrett reminds me of how George Karl described Carmelo Anthony.
paraphrasing here- he is puts much less effort into defence than offence and while he is a star player he will never be a winner
i hope I am wrong.
i rewatched the Melbourne game today and his unwillingness to bodyline the ball or take physical contact was incrediblly poor
if you have no life like me watch the game and tell me I am wrong

 

[katana]

If he "rarely hurts opposition", why would opposition coaches rate him so high in the AFLCA votes?

because coaches are actually pretty dumb and most of them get sacked. ya dig?

 

[Halftimehero]

“Not damaging enough”
“Doesn’t do anything with it”

 

[cAsEy_18]

“Not damaging enough”
View attachment 972328 “Doesn’t do anything with it”

Ah...so?

(I'm in the camp he is arguably our best user, so won't find me knocking him. But that stat does nothing for me).

 

[faible]

“Not damaging enough”
View attachment 972328 “Doesn’t do anything with it”

Having an AFL standard forward-line would probably make him look a lot more damaging with his i50's.

 

[Halftimehero]

Having an AFL standard forward-line would probably make him look a lot more damaging with his i50's.

Absolutely, yet he gets shit canned by our own supporters for not doing anything with it....

 

[Halftimehero]

Ah...so?

(I'm in the camp he is arguably our best user, so won't find me knocking him. But that stat does nothing for me).

Well just have a look at the other names listed, Zach continually puts himself among those players on all sorts of lists and leaderboards, yet he gets very little credit for it.

 

[eth-dog]

“Not damaging enough”
View attachment 972328 “Doesn’t do anything with it”

Jackson Macrae equal 4th in that stat shows how little it means. I'm not saying you're wrong but it's not a great stat.

 

[cAsEy_18]

Well just have a look at the other names listed, Zach continually puts himself among those players on all sorts of lists and leaderboards, yet he gets very little credit for it.

Sure.
Don't disagree with that at all.

"Number of inside 50s" isn't a strong argument to counter "doesn't do anything with it" though.

 

[Halftimehero]

Sure.
Don't disagree with that at all.

"Number of inside 50s" isn't a strong argument to counter "doesn't do anything with it" though.

Well aside from getting the ball more times than anyone else, he’s putting it where you need it to be to be able to score, like was mentioned above, if we had a half decent forward line who knew how to compete Zach would be considered a lot more damaging.

 

[DallasCrane316]

Tom Morris reporting that Carlton, Port and Hawks are “circling” Merrett to try their luck and see if they can pry him out of Essendon this off season.

Another trade period where we spend most of our time trying to keep our players instead of improving the list and attracting them?

 

[Schnitzengruben]

Tom Morris reporting that Carlton, Port and Hawks are “circling” Merrett to try their luck and see if they can pry him out of Essendon this off season.

Another trade period where we spend most of our time trying to keep our players instead of improving the list and attracting them?

"Circling" makes it sound like they're a group of vultures preying on a weak animal.

The real term would be "are interested" when in reality, every team in the comp would be interested.

Fact is, he's contracted. Unless they offer a kings ransom, he isn't going anywhere tbh.