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

 

[CBombers17]

If they make this guy captain the club only has itself to blame.

 

[Yoda_]

When Zac came into the system he was a manic tackler, drinking his own bath water a but now.

He averaged 4 tackles a game in his debut year but then went over 5.4 tackles a game until 2020 that dipper back to 3.4, improved like the rest of the team back to 4.9 in 2021 and this year his lowest tackles average in his career (2.5).

A real indictment on the list that one of our most important and senior players not doing the team things but wheeling and dealing getting possessions at will.

 

[bacon buster]

We are the bruise free bombers after all

 

[ghostdog]

When Zac came into the system he was a manic tackler, drinking his own bath water a but now.

He averaged 4 tackles a game in his debut year but then went over 5.4 tackles a game until 2020 that dipper back to 3.4, improved like the rest of the team back to 4.9 in 2021 and this year his lowest tackles average in his career (2.5).

A real indictment on the list that one of our most important and senior players not doing the team things but wheeling and dealing getting possessions at will.

Can be forgiven tonight after being ironed out, but in context over time that's a damning stat.

 

[essendon]

He clearly is a starting midfielder in the centre and not a flanker, WTf are they trying to do…..our best and damaging mid on a flank FFS……he tried to show he cared tonight but was so disengaged and ran around in circles and didnt even attempt to try and tackle……..wake up coaches

 

[brain taylor]

he tried to show he cared tonight but was so disengaged and ran around in circles and didnt even attempt to try and tackle

so did he care or was he disengaged? those things are mutually exclusive guy

 

[essendon]

so did he care or was he disengaged? those things are mutually exclusive guy

its pretty clear what I said….

 

[brain taylor]

its pretty clear what I said….

that his effort is conditional? agreed, it's a big problem with our senior players.

 

[essendon]

its pretty clear what

that his effort is conditional? agreed, it's a big problem with our senior players.

100% agree too…..he’s a vice captain showing no interest and been played out of position…….he is our best, most polished and creative mid being played off half back and now off half fwd for rotational BS purposes…..absolutely comical at best

 

[brain taylor]

100% agree too…..he’s a vice captain showing no interest and been played out of position…….he is our best, most polished and creative mid being played off half back and now off half fwd for rotational BS purposes…..absolutely comical at best

i imagine the rationale is that with our glut of inside ball-hunters, we could pull merrett to the outside and use his kicking where it might be more damaging, as he's our best kick. i'd certainly hope he doesn't throw his toys out of the cot over that.

 

[essendon]

i imagine the rationale is that with our glut of inside ball-hunters, we could pull merrett to the outside and use his kicking where it might be more damaging, as he's our best kick. i'd certainly hope he doesn't throw his toys out of the cot over that.

To me it looks like that……has no impact when he is not in the middle……

 

[brain taylor]

To me it looks like that……has no impact when he is not in the middle……

agree. as talented as he is, if this is how he wants to go about it then we could do without him.

 

[essendon]

agree. as talented as he is, if this is how he wants to go about it then we could do without him.

Yep…..but will be around for another 5 years

 

[citizen-erased]

Has a tendency to drop a bit when he gets a big hit. Probably fair too when no one came in to help and were running forward.

Still like him and i reckon he'll captain and make changes.
For now, its the dys dna and brand.
Cant imagine under merrett smiling will be tolerated

 

[frodos gardener]

My read on him is he gives up a bit when he sees others not putting in the work. See: his first two finals appearances.

I believe in his mind he would not see it as him being part of the problem, yet what we need from him is to go hard despite others not, because that’s what an emerging leader would do to influence his teammates.

 

[ghostdog]

agree. as talented as he is, if this is how he wants to go about it then we could do without him.

Has a tendency to drop a bit when he gets a big hit. Probably fair too when no one came in to help and were running forward.

Still like him and i reckon he'll captain and make changes.
For now, its the dys dna and brand.
Cant imagine under merrett smiling will be tolerated

Thete are a couple of playets who I reckon could do a better job because they don't give up and they continually work hard. Laverde and Snelling. I'm over the bullshit idea that somehow the Captain should be our best player.

 

[citizen-erased]

Thete are a couple of playets who I reckon could do a better job because they don't give up and they continually work hard. Laverde and Snelling. I'm over the bullshit idea that somehow the Captain should be our best player.

Id argue hes not our best.
Full flight wright and stringer have him covered.

I think there is leadership in him. But its stifled under heppells approach.
If we give it to him, i think it needs to be in lockstep with the coaches and heppell can't be at the club.

That said, im not wedded to him either.
But he does tick a lot of boxes

 

[ghostdog]

Id argue hes not our best.
Full flight wright and stringer have him covered.

I think there is leadership in him. But its stifled under heppells approach.
If we give it to him, i think it needs to be in lockstep with the coaches and heppell can't be at the club.

That said, im not wedded to him either.
But he does tick a lot of boxes

I wish we could see it. He should forget the title and just do.

 

[TheWeapon]

He clearly is a starting midfielder in the centre and not a flanker, WTf are they trying to do…..our best and damaging mid on a flank FFS……he tried to show he cared tonight but was so disengaged and ran around in circles and didnt even attempt to try and tackle……..wake up coaches

If he is disengaged because he is not being played in his preferred position that is very ordinary. He should look at Brayshaw from Melbourne as an example of how great teams have players that are willing to play a role for their team. Symptomatic of how they are not playing for each other, they are jogging around like they are a dynasty team when they havent even won a final yet. Besides, I havent seen anything this year to suggest Merrett is hard enough to play inside mid, think Hobbs has already gone past him in that regards

 

[Lore]

Rowbottom offered a week for trying to break Zach’s nose with his shoulder:

rough conduct, careless, medium impact, high contact

 

[citizen-erased]

Rowbottom offered a week for trying to break Zach’s nose with his shoulder:

rough conduct, careless, medium impact, high contact

Play on

 

[MiguelM]

Still can't believe there was no free kick at the time. Everybody saw it except the umps.

 

[citizen-erased]

Still can't believe there was no free kick at the time. Everybody saw it except the umps.

Beauty of the blow out was i didnt care about the umps.

They were probably worse than ever, but it didnt matter for once.

 

[andleanback]

Has a tendency to drop a bit when he gets a big hit. Probably fair too when no one came in to help and were running forward.

Still like him and i reckon he'll captain and make changes.
For now, its the dys dna and brand.
Cant imagine under merrett smiling will be tolerated

He can’t be captain. He’s 9 years into that system and still only figuring out how to be less insular. Also has had too many games where he just goes kick chasing, he’s a gun but also exactly what we are. Responses with defensive actions only once he gets pricked in the media during the week for poor effort.

 

[citizen-erased]

He can’t be captain. He’s 9 years into that system and still only figuring out how to be less insular. Also has had too many games where he just goes kick chasing, he’s a gun but also exactly what we are. Responses with defensive actions only once he gets pricked in the media during the week for poor effort.

Im less convinced than i was 4 years ago. But i do wonder if the vote out of the group stymied him a bit.
That had to sting. Esp from our blokes who clearly prefer a pat on the back and encouragement over honest truths.

If heppell goes, he's the natural successor. Not really blessed with other options