Former player David Zaharakis unloads on Essendon amid Zach Merrett trade saga

A former Don says his beloved club is ‘leaking like a sieve’ and may have plunged deeper towards rock bottom than during the infamous drugs saga.

Anzac Day medallist David Zaharakis has launched a scathing attack on his former club, declaring Essendon potentially closer to “rock bottom” than it was during the drugs saga.

Zaharakis, who played 226 games for the Bombers between 2009 and 2021, labelled the club a “rabble” in the wake of captain Zach Merrett’s attempted defection to Hawthorn and slamming the skipper for wanting out.

“We’re a rabble at the moment,” the 35-year-old said on Triple M on Tuesday.

“I don’t know what’s going on … you hear stories every single week.

“I honestly thought my period at Essendon was a pretty rough period – especially 2015, 2016.

“Everyone thought we had hit rock bottom, but I honestly believe we are very close, if not further, to rock bottom than what we were then.

David Zaharakis has teed off on his former club. Picture: Michael Klein

“The stories that have come out this year about players wanting to leave and the locker room divide, and stuff with even with the CEO and the players are disgruntled.

“There’s too many stories happening at the moment at Essendon. As a past player, you’re pretty disappointed and shattered with where the club is at.

“It seems like we’ve gone backwards, rather than forwards.”

Zaharakis, who won the club’s 2011 best and fairest medal, backed in new president Andrew Welsh but said he was “disappointed” with where things sat at the club and said Merrett would struggle to be captain in 2026 after this post-season script.

“In my time as a player, I never had a captain wanting to leave,” he said.

“Jobe (Watson) and Dys (Heppell), you’d never even think about them entertaining something like this.

“So, with Zach there and potentially entertaining that (leaving), I wouldn’t think you’d want him to be a captain next year.

“I love Zach as a person, and he was a great teammate of mine, but it would be hard to then look that person in the eye and be like, ‘are you fully committed to this footy club?’

“I’m not sure what that locker room is going to look like day one of pre-season.

“Essendon are adamant that he’s staying and they’re not trading him; I personally don’t see it (him staying) happening.”

Zach Merrett wants to play for Hawthorn Picture: Getty Images

Former Geelong forward Billy Brownless said the club was “leaking like a sieve”, which Zaharakis said was “the worst thing”.

“Especially when you never hear bad stories about the top eight clubs in the league,” he said.

“It’s always the bottom six or seven clubs that have leaks. Essendon is leaking like a sieve.

“As a playing group, to have controversy almost every day and week … walking into that locker room, I don’t know how you wouldn’t be divided.

“There’d be certain and different opinions of what’s going on with Zach leaving, ‘Do we want him back?’ ‘Do we want him captain?’ ‘Do we to play with him next year?’.”

He said he believed Welsh was “a great appointment” for the club who could bring former players back into the fold.

“I just think for right now, we are going in with a hard edge but also a good relationships person ... some hard decisions need to be made,” he said.

“Now the playing list is turning over and we’re still a little bit away because we’re so young.”

Originally published as Former player David Zaharakis unloads on Essendon amid Zach Merrett trade saga