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

 

[andleanback]

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

I think he was more voted out due to not actually doing any leading day to day around the club and as I said before being a more insular person who concentrated on getting the best out of himself, which he does, he’s an ultimate professional. Mcgrath is captain material, but with the way he’s performing and bad habits that have crept into his game, I’m not sure you can give him the role now either. It may be left field but I really think langford would be a great skipper.

 

[citizen-erased]

I think he was more voted out due to not actually doing any leading day to day around the club and as I said before being a more insular person who concentrated on getting the best out of himself, which he does, he’s an ultimate professional. Mcgrath is captain material, but with the way he’s performing and bad habits that have crept into his game, I’m not sure you can give him the role now either. It may be left field but I really think langford would be a great skipper.

Quite the conundrum

Langford would be left field. Never really looked for any indication of it in him but gotta admit i like that he's been on the bench whilst injured.

 

[andleanback]

Quite the conundrum

Langford would be left field. Never really looked for any indication of it in him but gotta admit i like that he's been on the bench whilst injured.

He’s very well respected in the group. He would’ve been in the leadership group this year if they didn’t streamline it to only 3.

 

[yodellinhank]

Quite the conundrum

Langford would be left field. Never really looked for any indication of it in him but gotta admit i like that he's been on the bench whilst injured.

He just loves that bench

 

[faible]

Quite the conundrum

Langford would be left field. Never really looked for any indication of it in him but gotta admit i like that he's been on the bench whilst injured.

Give it to Redman, not afraid to tell his older teammates they're being shit.

 

[Nifft]

Give it to Redman, not afraid to tell his older teammates they're being shit.

We don't have great leadership, but at least give captain and VCs to guys that try their guts out, like Redman, Laverde and Kelly. Draper wouldn't be a bad option for VC as well when he's got a bit more experience.

 

[Red Black and Blue]

Heard Ed eDPS talk about playing him at half back on The Lunch Time Catch up podcast this week.

What ever happened to the half back trial that was teased at the start of the year. Doesn't seem to have been attempted post injury.

Is it time to try? We aren't getting the midfield performances we are after. We've got to get more midfield minutes into Perkins, Hobbs, Martin, Durham. More forward minutes into Tex. We need better kicks off half back. Seems like only a positive move.

 

[I Remember Bluey]

https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/teams/essendon/essendon-news-zach-merrett-exclusive-column-on-bombers-review-season-2022/news-story/20ac448f8a343857e82711cdb2212924

Essendon news: Zach Merrett exclusive column on Bombers review, season 2022​

Zach Merrett was having a quiet drink in his mid-season break when he heard about the Bombers launching a review. He reveals his reaction in an exclusive column.

I was having a quiet drink with a mate during my mid-season break last week when I first learned of the club’s internal review.
My immediate reaction was a little bit of surprise.

It’s always interesting when these things come up because we’re already such a review industry, and as players we review everything.

Every game and every training session is analysed, and we’re reviewing constantly individually about where we sit from week to week.

You’re judged all the time, so for me personally it didn’t seem like a big deal.

And also because as players we must have trust.

Dyson Heppell and Zach Merrett after Essendon’s loss to Sydney this year.

I know it can seem like a big deal when an internal review becomes public, but I think it’s just about working out where we can improve across the board and that’s a good thing.

The first half of the season was clearly disappointing and there’s no shying away from that, and our bye week was a good opportunity to hit the reset button.

We obviously want to win every game, but I feel like the wheel has begun to turn.

I’m sure our fans want to see consistent effort, which has to become a mainstay for our group and instilled into our young players moving forward.

Hopefully on the back of that we’ll see our team playing with more freedom, while consistently showing up in the contest.

We want that to change and we want to give the fans some excitement.

I’d love to be able to pinpoint the reason why we’re at 2-9, but I think we probably thought it would just flow on from last year and we tried to add on a few aspects that potentially weren’t fully established at the expense of some fundamentals.

We’ve also had a lot of personnel change from last year.

In the Dreamtime at the ‘G game we had 12 different players from last year in the team that night, so that’s a big turnover.

The flip side of that has been the emergence of the likes of Ben Hobbs and Zach Reid in particular, along with some performances from Archie Perkins that have been very exciting to watch.

We’re getting some really good games into our young group.

It hasn’t been showing in our results to date, but I feel like we’re putting a lot of work in during the week and I’m sure at some point we’ll bear the fruits of that effort.

Early on this season we went away from our pressure, which was our core fundamental from last year, and it’s something we’re trying to get consistently back to as it was our hallmark in 2021.

We know that when you’re 2-9 at a big club there are obviously going to be storylines written about you and a lot of media coverage.

I’m surprised we’re in this position and obviously I’d much rather be 9-2, but we just need to drive home some fundamentals and try to establish some good habits across the board for all our players.

Not that we’re using age and experience as an excuse, but we’re also realistic with where we sit and there’s a lot of belief about where we’re going.

It is just how quickly we’re going to get there, and the mentality is to just keep building day by day.

There are a few areas we’ve tried to hone in on the past few weeks around our contest and defensive areas.

We were the highest team for scores against the first seven or eight rounds and were conceding on average about 100 points, which clearly doesn’t stack up.

The past month we’ve kept teams under 80 and then under 70, so that’s a big tick and a step in the right direction.

It’s still not a win and four premiership points, which is what we want, but hopefully it’s a reflection of where we’re trying to get to and the work we’re doing midweek.

There’s still a way to go, but it’s a good start.

This week means a lot to us and to be able to play in Essendon’s 150-year celebration is a big deal, but it’s probably even more meaningful for all the people that have come and gone before us.

We’re very understanding of the significance, and obviously Carlton plays a big part in that being such a big club as well, so it’ll be a really special night for both clubs.

 

[faible]

eth-dog

Better?

consistent effort

showing up in the contest

fundamentals

pressure

defensive areas

 

[eth-dog]

eth-dog

Better?

Yeah, that is better.

 

[citizen-erased]

Looks a broken player.
Shadow of his best

 

[MiguelM]

Very disappointing. Those dinky kicks to nowhere.

Needs to lift, not really impacting games like he used to.

Too many times just jogs past a contest, mind you there are a few others in this boat.

 

[the PILL]

Is Zach carrying an injury or something?

Saw some very questionable chasing from him tonight early on but then he seemed to get better in the later stages of the game?

 

[citizen-erased]

Is Zach carrying an injury or something?

Saw some very questionable chasing from him tonight early on but then he seemed to get better in the later stages of the game?

Pace is severely lacking.
Does seem quite rattled and wonder if the rowbottom hit impacted something

 

[frodos gardener]

Seems to fumble a lot of the quick inside handball receives. Put a bit of grippo on him pre-game.

 

[Mikevk123]

What the hell has happened to him?

 

[Schnitzengruben]

What the hell has happened to him?

Out of form and disillusioned, like most of our players.

Put him in another jumper and he'd be dominating.

 

[brain taylor]

Put him in another jumper and he'd be dominating.

if someone comes sniffing around we should hear them out

 

[Schnitzengruben]

if someone comes sniffing around we should hear them out

I'd want to hear the offer for just about anyone in our best 22 tbh.

 

[citizen-erased]

Find it odd we have one of the better mids to get on the end of a passing chain (Merrett) along with a kid who just knows how to get a ball out to advantage.

I know things take time, but Merrett & Hobbs should be a killer combination with the likes of Shiel, Stringer & Perkins around doing grunt work.

 

[TheGrizz]

So we are trading Merrett now too (cause Parish, Shiel and McGrath werent enough) less than 12 months after signing a 6 year deal?

Cool, let's just trade away all our good players. Sounds great

 

[The Devils Advocate]

So we are trading Merrett now too (cause Parish, Shiel and McGrath werent enough) less than 12 months after signing a 6 year deal?

Cool, let's just trade away all our good players. Sounds great

Some real questionable units on this board.
Zach Merrett will be a bomber for life.

 

[Lore]

So we are trading Merrett now too (cause Parish, Shiel and McGrath werent enough) less than 12 months after signing a 6 year deal?

Cool, let's just trade away all our good players. Sounds great

It's like playing one of those video games that you stuff up the first jump and hit restart, and then do it again... and again. and againnnnnn.

Except you only get one restart per year so it's more or less watching a car crash in extreme slowmo.

 

[citizen-erased]

So we are trading Merrett now too (cause Parish, Shiel and McGrath werent enough) less than 12 months after signing a 6 year deal?

Cool, let's just trade away all our good players. Sounds great

depending on the deal, I think Parish is tradeable. the other 3 aren't imo
6 years for Merrett
Shiel's age
McGrath is important structurally.

 

[mike14]

So we are trading Merrett now too (cause Parish, Shiel and McGrath werent enough) less than 12 months after signing a 6 year deal?

Cool, let's just trade away all our good players. Sounds great

To be fair, we haven't actually traded any of those players...
It would be interesting to hear if those advocating for a trade are up for trading more than 1 (and how many), but I'd be pretty confident in saying very, very few want them all traded.