AFL Round 8 Essendon v North Melbourne: What Zach Merrett’s heroics prove about this Bombers team

Zach Merrett might be Nathan Buckley 2.0. His coach said it, and his actions prove it. But, as JOSH BARNES writes, Brad Scott’s comparison may cut deeper than even he expected.

Zach Merrett is so good, and on a level so far higher than his teammates, that he is seen as a “role model”.

To his coach, the Bomber skipper is on the same plane as another captain who appeared to look like he was dragging his team along in his wake.

Fresh off a 35-disposal, best-on-ground effort to hold Essendon from toppling over the cliff in a frantic final quarter against North Melbourne, Merrett’s coach Brad Scott went straight to Nathan Buckley.

“It’s unfair to make too many comparisons, but I think this one is appropriate,” Scott said.

“He reminds me of Nathan Buckley in his will to win. I had the misfortune of playing against Nathan Buckley and the fortune of coaching him (as a Collingwood assistant coach). I thought his will to win, his drive was close to second-to-none and Merrett reminds me so much of him in that regard.

“But Merrett, like Nathan, backs that up with work ethic. He works on his craft every day, he is always seeking to get better. Every time he comes into the NEC Hangar, he is like, ‘I am here to get better’ and he expects that of his teammates.”

Merrett’s single-mindedness and the way he stands clearly above his teammates is reminiscent of Buckley, as he slogged away dominating individually but losing collectively for the Pies in the 1990s.

Somewhat like the irrepressible Collingwood leader, Merrett has some quality teammates, but the gap between him and the next best is surely the biggest at any club in the competition.

Bomber great Matthew Lloyd annoyed some GWS people recently when he said the Giants rely on goalkicker Jesse Hogan the most of any club in the game, but the Dons play like they would simply fall over without Merrett’s left leg.

Even teammate Archie Perkins talked in awestruck terms on Thursday night.

“He could still be underrated,” Perkins said.

“We see him every day and every week and the stuff he does. Since I have been at the club, the one thing I have noticed is he is the best trainer. He is the most consistent with his skill level and attitude.

“It is like every training is a game and he wants to be the best with his execution. There are no surprises the way he goes about it. I can’t think of another midfielder in the competition who chases and tackles nearly as well.

“That is a level he has on the park and his form is amazing, he is a role model for us.”

Zach Merrett fires out a handpass on Thursday night. Picture: Michael Klein

Nathan Buckley in action for Collingwood.

At times, even Buckley admitted he lost control on field and couldn’t accept his players not being at his level.

Merrett could have hit that point on Thursday night, when he broke free and streamed into an open forward line as Isaac Kako zig-zagged through the middle.

Kako slid a ball towards goal, burning Merrett, and the captain shook his head a few times but held back on a full bake.

“He is not content to be the best player on the ground, he wants to drag other with him and he sets the example on and off the field,” Scott said.

“That is the fine line, we have worked really hard in that space and Zach has led that. Isaac just didn’t see him.

“I reckon 3, 4, 5 years ago he would have shown a lot more disappointment than he did tonight.”

Scott’s comparison may cut deeper than even he expected as he said it.

Buckley played in a losing final in 1994, his 43rd AFL game and 23rd at Collingwood.

Merrett played in a losing elimination final in 2014, his 20th game.

The Bomber has played in three more losing finals since.

For Buckley, it took until 2002 and his 204th game to finally win in September.

Merrett ticked over game 236 on Thursday.

He has never played better and has never been in better form – against the Roos he was as prolific the Trumpet of Patriot’s sent text message folder.

But the Bombers, even if they were three men down, only just fell over the line against a North Melbourne team that had been pilloried all week as a battler.

And their thin depth is about to be seriously tested.

His team has beaten a woeful West Coast team, Melbourne when it was without any mojo and a Port Adelaide side that has been up and down.

Losses to Hawthorn, Adelaide and Collingwood are far from shameful.

Nate Caddy takes to the skies. Picture: Michael Willson/AFL Photos

But now, as Scott put it, his team needs to “find some players”.

The Marvel Stadium rooms after a three-point win were about as cheerful as a losing election night party on Thursday.

As the players mingled with family, Harry Jones sat in an ambulance waiting for his family to join him on the ride to hospital with a dislocated ankle.

Important defender Jordan Ridley will miss some time with a hamstring, Jade Gresham was in the changerooms with a sore adductor as the final minutes played out.

Sam Draper and Nick Bryan aren’t coming back this year, neither is Tom Edwards.

Essendon hopes Darcy Parish will play some VFL time next weekend after a calf issue, so he won’t be back in the seniors for a few weeks.

It’s a deep injury list, but not the worst in the competition.

The reason for concern is that Essendon willingly moved on part of its depth in recent years, happy to part with fringe players as part of its plan to rebuild from the middle of the ladder.

The VFL team that lost to Collingwood last weekend featured two players who had played at AFL level – Alwyn Davey Jr, who has played 20 games, and Saad El-Hawli, who has played three as the sub.

That is depth that wouldn’t get your gumboots wet.

So the door opens for defender Lewis Hayes to replace Ridley, for El-Hawli to finally get a full game, and for Jye Caldwell (hamstring) and Dylan Shiel (rested) to march straight back into the team.

Nik Cox (concussion) and Matt Guelfi (hamstring) will soon return.

Essendon needs to find those new players Scott was talking about now.

This year, Zach Reid has finally got a run at it and looks every bit the long-term defender the club believed he was.

Perkins has taken Jake Stringer’s spot and his three goals were vital on Thursday, Nate Caddy and Kako have done everything right so far.

Archie Roberts has had the ball on a string lately covering Dyson Heppell’s role at half-back, Xavier Duursma is settling into the wing.

It’s time for Ben Hobbs and Elijah Tsatas to come along too.

The club’s strategy of giving up on quick fixes and building for the future is right and for it to come off some players on the fringe need to become future best 23 locks.

This will not be a contending team for some years to come, but some of that fruit that could make for a top-four team while Merrett is still hitting targets can come along this year.

Because if they don’t, Merrett will one day be left standing head and shoulders above in a team that can’t snap its own finals streak.

Buckley never got to play in a premiership side, hamstrung out of the game in 2007 with five finals wins, two lost grand finals and a losing Norm Smith Medal as his September resume.

It wasn’t his fault, and the Pies would win a flag just three years later.

Merrett has time to go better than ‘Bucks’, he just needs the Dons to “find some players”.

Originally published as AFL Round 8 Essendon v North Melbourne: What Zach Merrett’s heroics prove about this Bombers team