Zach Merrett’s bid to join Hawthorn fails in dramatic trade scenes
Trade period can make strange bedfellows, but Zach Merrett and the Hawks turned out to be a bridge too far. See what Essendon and Hawthorn had to say after the star’s failed trade.
Hawthorn could make another bid for Zach Merrett next year after he was sensationally held to his contract by Essendon, despite a desperate plea from the disgruntled midfielder to new Bombers president Andrew Welsh to let him leave.
In a stunning conclusion to a tense AFL trade period on Wednesday, the Bombers were steadfast in their resolve not to trade the wantaway skipper, who will now almost certainly lose the captaincy.
Hawthorn came late with a revised offer in the last half hour of the trade period, but Essendon refused to budge, ensuring Merrett will remain at The Hanger next year.
Hawks national recruiting and list manager Mark McKenzie said the club felt for a shattered Merrett, but stressed any upgrade on their final offer would have had a detrimental effect.
Having rejected Hawthorn’s original offer on Tuesday night, the final bid from the Hawks was picks 10 and 22 this year, a future first rounder in 2026 and young midfielder Henry Hustwaite.
They wanted Merrett and a future third round selection for 2027 in return, but Essendon maintained it wanted a fourth first round selection for their six-time Crichton Medallist.
There were tense moments in the dying minutes of the trade period with Merrett’s manager Tom Petroro urging the Bombers and Hawks to get a deal done for his client who wanted out of the club.
McKenzie hasn’t ruled out launching another bid for Merrett next year, saying the club would remain aggressive in its pursuit of high end talent.
“We have put ourselves in a great position for this year’s draft but then to go again next year,” McKenzie said. “We want to be aggressive. We haven’t made a secret out of the fact that we wanted to go after high end talent players.
“That will happen again whether it is next year or the year after that.”
Essendon general manager of list and recruiting Matt Rosa conceded the decision to keep Merrett against his wishes might make for an awkward situation on day one of preseason training.
But he made no apologies for their desire to keep the 30-year-old, who has two more years to run on his current deal.
“You talk to the players, and day one (of preseason training) might be a little awkward. That’s natural but we move on really quickly,” Rosa said.
“We want him playing with us, we want him besides us … he is an inspirational player, they (his teammates) are comfortable with it.
Rosa confirmed Merrett had been in dialogue with Welsh, urging the club to let him move to Hawthorn, but he stressed the relationship between him and the club was salvageable.
“Andrew (Welsh) and Zach have built a very good relationship and we have been clear with Zach the whole way through that he is an important part of what we are doing.”
Petroro had made his feelings known shortly after arriving at Marvel Stadium shortly after 2pm, insisting Merrett was desperate for a pathway out of Essendon.
“I’ve never seen a deal like this for a 30 year old... I would have thought three top picks is probably better than a 30 year old,” Petroro said of the Hawks’ initial offer.
“Zach really wants to be a Hawthorn footballer.
“He is all in on this, it’s been a difficult five or six week period and his instruction to me is to get (him) to Hawthorn this afternoon. He is at home, he’s motivated to get to Hawthorn.”
Rosa said he did not expect any residual damage given Petroro’s frustration in not getting his client to Hawthorn, but said the Bombers needed to make a stand for their future.
Originally published as Zach Merrett’s bid to join Hawthorn fails in dramatic trade scenes
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