Hawthorn president Andy Gowers has defended the club’s decision not to bow to Essendon’s trade demands for star midfielder Zach Merrett.

The Bombers reportedly demanded four first-round selections as the cornerstone for any potential deal, but Hawthorn weren’t interested in what they called “ridiculous” trade demands from the Bombers.

The Essendon captain was desperate to play at the Hawks under coach Sam Mitchell in 2026, but the two clubs were so far apart in trade discussions, meaning Merrett will return to Tullamarine and need to smooth things over with his teammates in pre-season.

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Gowers admitted he was “disappointed” that a deal for Merrett couldn’t be struck, but instead was keen to see how the Hawks’ list continues to develop in 2026.“He (footy boss Rob McCartney) said accepting that offer would have been ridiculous, so we didn’t. You are not going to give away the farm. In the end, the deal wasn’t able to be done. That’s life, we get on with it. We look forward to the pre-season and the season ahead,” Gowers said.

“We had some bold plans and, sometimes, your bold plans don’t work out at the moment. But we have a longer picture here. We want sustained success. We don’t want to be a one-year wonder.

Dunstall backs Hawks Merrett decision | 01:16

“We are after sustained success here… the history of this club, we are out there to win. So, we do feel like we make bold decisions and bold plans. And over the long term, we will have to look back one day and see how successful this era will be. At this stage, we are confident about where we are headed, and we move on.”

The Hawks will be bolstered by the return of gun on-baller Will Day next year, while they’ll also hope the likes of Cam Mackenzie and Josh Ward can continue to improve.

AFL legend and Fox Footy’s very own Jason Dunstall said the Hawks couldn’t “sell their soul” to lure Merrett to the club.

“We didn’t get Merrett but, to be brutally honest, a cordial deal between Hawthorn and Essendon was highly unlikely when you look at the relationship between the two clubs, historically. I would love to have seen him in a Hawthorn jumper, I think he had wanted to come, but it didn’t pan out,” Dunstall said.

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“You can’t sell your soul. We did everything we possibly could. I think Zach did everything he possibly could. At the end of the day, you (Essendon) get a new president come in, and credit to Andrew Welsh, he planted his flag and said, ‘This isn’t happening’, and it didn’t happen.

“Once the new president came in, I think there was no chance of getting a deal done.”