Zach Merrett wins Crichton Medal as Essendon’s best and fairest player
YOUNG gun Zach Merrett has been rewarded for a stellar season under tough circumstances, winning Essendon’s best and fairest in his third season at the club.
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ESSENDON coach John Worsfold turned to boxing legend Muhammad Ali for inspiration as the club prepares to launch into 2017.
Young gun Zach Merrett was last night rewarded for a stellar season under tough circumstances, winning the club’s best and fairest award in just his third season at the club.
Merrett was a runaway victor, ahead of Joe Daniher and James Kelly, who tied in second place.
Nine of the club’s banned players have declared their intention to play on next season, with Michael Hibberd the only one to indicate he will seek other opportunities.
Skipper Jobe Watson — who was not mentioned on the night — is yet to make a decision on his playing future.
It is believed that the club received special dispensation for all 12 banned Bombers to attend last night’s best and fairest award at Crown Palladium, but the players elected not to.
Worsfold said that while there are obvious differences, there are lessons to be learned from the path that Ali — who passed away this year — tread.
“In 2016, the world lost Muhammad Ali. An incomparable work ethic and a fearlessness in standing up for his beliefs,” Worsfold said last night.
“A man who was arrested, stripped of his titles, exiled from his sport for three years. Three of his prime years. The man who took part against Joe Frazier in what was billed as the fight of the century, and he lost.
“Then he became the man who made a comeback, and he’s recognised as one of the greatest athletes of all time. As (US President) Barack Obama said of Muhammad Ali, he’s the man who believes real success comes when we rise after we fall.
“Though not identical, there’s some lessons we can learn there.”
Worsfold said the club was “floored” by the Court of Arbitration for Sport decision that was handed down in January, but that it has been pleasing that “somewhere along the way, we stopped talking about who we were missing and only talked about who we had and who we had discovered”.
He highlighted the likes of Darcy Parish, Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti and Merrett — who captained the team in the last two rounds — while also thanking the “part-time consultant” players who signed on when the dozen players were suspended.
“We will now turn our energy into developing our list with some new faces and many old faces returning that will join a group that has laid a solid foundation and displayed a genuine hunger to do the work to become great,” Worsfold said.
“We need the commitment, work ethic, and a group strongly aligned to our shared vision to allow for this next successful era. We are ready.”
He highlighted every re-signed banned player to rapturous applause, but there was no mention of Watson.
Stand-in captain Brendon Goddard implored both players and supporters not to put too much pressure on the team as they prepare to welcome back the swag of banned players.
“There is still a lot of unknowns,” he said.
“The guys coming back — it is exciting, don’t get me wrong — and the foundations that we’ve laid this year, the talent that’s come through … how far the footy club’s come, essentially we hit rock bottom.
“It’s important that we stay level-headed. It is exciting getting those guys back, but I think for everyone … to just move on from everything that’s happened and play footy and worry about footy things and worry about winning games of footy.”
Club chairman Lindsay Tanner said he won’t be fooled into thinking the return of some of the club’s biggest names will spell immediate success, but lauded the club for its strength this year.
“2016 has been an enormous character test for Essendon Football Club, and we have passed that test with flying colours,” he said last night.
“But it takes more than character to win games and premierships. Our comeback is only just getting started. And we have many more challenges to meet than just those arising from the CAS decision. As the process of healing and recovery continues, we must pursue improvement across all areas of activity, on-field and off-field, and not become prisoners of the challenges.”
Originally published as Zach Merrett wins Crichton Medal as Essendon’s best and fairest player
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