Essendon star Zach Merrett a casualty of leadership mess
How can Essendon’s reigning best and fairest winner and vice-captain not be among the club’s official leaders? Mark Robinson ponders another torrid start for the Bombers.
Essendon
Don't miss out on the headlines from Essendon. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Most Essendon fans are wondering where their football club is at as season 2020 draws near.
The announcement of their leadership group symbolises where they’ve been – confused and chaotic.
Musical chairs in the leadership group – which is the guardian of the playing group – is hardly the foundation of direction and solidarity.
This season’s group comprises Dyson Heppell (captain), Dylan Shiel, Devon Smith, Michael Hurley and David Zaharakis.
It is sound enough. Experienced and capable.
It makes a mockery of the direction the club took in 2019, when the Heppell-led group involved Zach Merrett (vice-captain), David Myers, Joe Daniher and Orazio Fantasia.
Read those names again.
By season’s end, Daniher wanted out and was made to stay, Fantasia floated the idea of leaving and David Myers played seven games and announced his retirement.
The other player is Merrett.
This week, he was cut from the leadership group.
How can the reigning best and fairest winner, the vice-captain who captained a handful of games when Heppell was injured last year, not be among the official leaders?
This was not Merrett’s choice.
He did not receive enough votes to earn a spot in the group.
So, out he goes.
It’s far from the end of the world, but when a player is put in the leadership group for the first time in 2016, aged just 20, it was suspected the Bombers had earmarked Merrett has a future captain.
Clearly, at 24 and with two best and fairests, that’s no longer the case.
It is a horrible look for Merrett.
And an odd decision by the Bombers.
It’s been a mess this leadership group business at Essendon.
MORE AFL NEWS:
Zach Merrett disappointed at being ousted from Essendon’s leadership group
AFLW 2020 captains survey: Who will win premership, best-and-fairest, rising star?
KFC SuperCoach Rookie Bible: Every potential cash cow for season 2020
The kerfuffle at the start of the 2019 season last year, when the coaches had a strong say on the composition of the group, meant veterans Hurley and Cale Hooker missed out, which caused rumbles with some of the playing group, which was first reported by the Herald Sun.
This year, the players wanted complete transparency of the criteria and also agreed on a five-man group.
Head of football Dan Richardson said: “The entire playing group went through a thorough voting process to determine the formal leaders and it is a really positive sign that the depth of leadership throughout the playing list is growing.’’
The clear casualty is Merrett, who is understood to have narrowly missed out on selection.
Fantasia’s decision to step down – he received enough votes to be part of the leadership group – also raises eyebrows.
If he chooses to leave at the end of the season, which is a possibility, he can hardly put his hand up for a leadership role at the start of the season.
As for Merrett, he’s a young man with good character and this jolt shouldn’t derail what is shaping as a high-end career.
How he takes it will probably be best judged by how he plays his football.
Originally published as Essendon star Zach Merrett a casualty of leadership mess