Alexandra Merrett admits she was concerned around this time last year. Her family was in the midst of a well-publicised period of heaviness and scrutiny centred on her husband, Zach, while the champion footballer weighed up his future and sought a trade from Essendon to Hawthorn.
It affected him, her, their broader family and friends. And ultimately, he didn’t get his wish, as the clubs could not agree to terms before the trade period expired.
“I definitely was worried about his mental health. It was a lot,’’ Alexandra tells VWeekend. “Especially because he’s been such a loved player of the game for so long and for people to question his character was hard to sit back and listen to.
“Knowing him and the way he goes about things, it couldn’t be further from the truth.
“Footy brings people together and can be so amazing and so happy. And then you just get to see those little sides of it that can be a bit scary.”
The Merretts stayed close to their inner circle and kicked on with strong support from family and friends. Their 20-month-old son Jude, a ball of energy who oozes cuteness, was a source of great joy and distraction. Alexandra says his blonde locks make him the spitting image of Zach when he was a baby.
“I think everyone talks perspective,’’ the star midfielder says. “It certainly shifts your mindset a bit – footy is everything until you have a child, and then they become everything and everything comes after that.
“It adds a different layer, you prioritise things in your life differently with him first and then footy. He’s been a massive blessing.”
Alexandra agrees that having Jude has been the best tonic.
“Just being with family helped,’’ she says.
“You do stop and think we are so grateful and lucky, Zach is an incredible husband and partner and father and we have so much to be grateful for so we were focusing on the positives.
“Zach loves footy, that’s his passion. Ultimately I’m not the one who’s living and breathing it and whatever is going to make him happy, Jude and I will support.”
Zach Merrett says he’s grateful for his parents,his manager and Alexandra – who he married at Melbourne CBD venue Maison Batard earlier this year – for helping him maintain a calmness in the middle of the storm. “We live such unique lives as footballers and I’ve got some incredible people close to me,” the 30-year-old says.
He was raised by Greg and Cathy Merrett in dairy farming town Cobden, southwest of Melbourne. Cathy was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis at age 23, before Zach was born.
He has previously spoken of his mum’s battle with the debilitating disease as giving him another dose of perspective.
Zach later attended Melbourne Grammar School on a cricket scholarship, but was ultimately drafted to Essendon at pick No.26 in 2013. He has since notched 274 games for the club, yielding him three All-Australian blazers, six Crichton medals as the Bombers’ best and fairest player, the coveted Anzac medal in 2024 and a run in the Victorian team in this year’s State of Origin match in Perth.
Zach also captained Essendon from 2023 to 2025. The role was “an honour that was a childhood dream of mine running around the backyard in Cobden”, the star midfielder previously said. But he also knew his decision to seek a trade would make it untenable.
Upon his return to the club ahead of the 2026 season, he relinquished the coveted role.
And then coach Brad Scott – who he considered a mentor and still does – was shown the door in May, following the club’s dismal 1-10 start to the season.
“Being pulled apart with media, you’re required to do a fair bit as captain and I was away from Jude a lot,’’ Zach says. “I felt midway through that year (2025) I was going to consider stepping down at the end of the year anyway. It was the right decision for me professionally and personally. And Andy (McGrath) was ready and has a great ability to connect with all the players.
“It was hard but easy in a sense as it was the right decision for me to move forward.”
On top of that, Zach was keen to get back to work with not a second thought given to sulking and wasting more time. He’s not wired that way.
“I felt I knew why (Essendon) kept me, because they knew I’d come back and perform and be the ultimate professional, so in that part it didn’t wane,’’ he says. “I think the hard part was the fact we were losing so many games and we couldn’t quite get it together. And we couldn’t quite string together enough momentum. But all the boys, we all stuck together through a pretty tough year.
“Losing a coach is pretty tough. It’s always hard because you grow such a strong connection and I captained with (Scott) for three years and he was and continues to be incredible for me. A mentor and his leadership, to see him go was tough. But the way the industry is, you wake up the next day and you’ve got to move pretty quickly.”
The thing that irked Zach the most throughout the whole saga was the perception that his Bombers teammates resented him for seeking a trade.
“That was the funniest one I found the whole time,’’ he says.
“It kept getting played up that teammates were pissed off. But the love and care and messages and calls I had from 95 per cent of my teammates was very strong.
“I have relationships that will last far beyond footy and that was the one that kept getting brought up. It was maybe five per cent the other way (with sentiment). But by and large, it felt I was good with people around me.
“You find out in those moments, as well, who you want in your circle and that made it become very clear. I knew I was going back into a pretty hostile six months, so when the season kicked off, I was keen to preserve as much time and energy with Jude as I could, and gear up for a pretty intense season in the spotlight.”
Moving on is what Zach has wanted to do. He’s now up to 274 games with a ton of accolades, but not a lot of wins. He has been thinking carefully about his future since Essendon’s season ended.
He and Alexandra also finally managed to go on their honeymoon, spending five days in Japan. Although at the airport, Zach was watching the recent final between Geelong and Carlton, and was glued to the screen.
Footy has never been far from his mind. He has an unwavering will to win, and it’s speculated he will again request a trade to Hawthorn in the upcoming trade period.
His new manager, Nick Gieschen, who he reconnected with in January, would guide a potential move.
Zach says “tough times” amid an obsessive footy world had got him down, but he’s not naive to what he signed up for.
“There’s so much scrutiny and focus on you,’’ he says. “And everyone is having opinions on you, who don’t know you or don’t really have full context around the situation.
“They’re either guessing or have heard through second or third hand what the situation may be. That was hard, not being able to get on the front foot and correct things or give people real context.
“I understand that’s the environment and industry we’re in at the moment and everyone has an opinion and a voice, which I think is great for the game and I admire the passion. But there are moments where it doesn’t feel good at all.”
One of the unexpected times he dominated headlines and the myriad of footy shows was via an inadvertent social media post by Alexandra earlier this year. She posted – and later deleted – a TikTok at up-market city restaurant Gimlet, of herself having a wine after leaving a Bombers game at halftime when they were trailing the Bulldogs by 50 points.
Alexandra says the video was never intended to be a dig at the club. “That turned into a much bigger thing,’’ she says. “I was not even thinking, it was a very lighthearted video. A lot of people thought I was angry and bitter, I’d had a glass of wine and was probably a bit silly, but there was no harm in that at all.”
The Merretts kept rolling with the punches, as they have continually done together, and hilariously posed for pictures outside the restaurant while on a date night. Brad Scott had even offered to give them a voucher to dine – but they’re still waiting for that one.
Zach did clap back at one comment though, with Kane Cornes revealing after last week’s grand final that he received a text from the star Bomber just as the siren sounded on the 2026 season. Cornes had previously said that if Zach Merrett went to Hawthorn to chase a premiership, winning a flag with the brown and gold would feel a bit hollow. So on grand final day, Zach texted Cornes asking if victory with Brisbane was hollow for Sam Draper and Oscar Allen (players who left Essendon and West Coast respectively to join the Lions this season).
Cornes liked that and nicknamed him “the accountant” for keeping receipts.
If all goes to plan for Zach Merrett with a fresh start, it will be water under the bridge and there’ll be smiles all around.
Race connections fill Merrett’s cup
Zach Merrett grew up around racing circles.
He went to school with trainers JD and Will Hayes and remembers watching the big race days with their family. The twins are the sons of Hall of Fame trainer David Hayes and the grandsons of legendary Australian racing icon Colin Hayes, representing the third generation of the Hayes dynasty at Lindsay Park.
“I’m best mates with the twins,” Merrett says. “Going to school and growing up in the boarding house, I was pretty much at (their parents’) David and Prue’s house every Friday and Saturday night, kicking the footy and running around and watching the horses on the TV.
“It was a lot of fun. “For 10 years, I’d just go with the Hayes boys and sit and watch with them. They were pretty busy and, more recently, given they’re head trainers now, it’s a bit hard to go along to the track with them because they’ve working so hard. Growing up in Cobden I remember being in grade 2 or 4 and watching all the big races while I was in primary school. So I definitely have a fondness for racing.”
Merrett – this year’s Caulfield Cup ambassador – has also owned three racehorses with the Hayes boys in the past 10 years. His racing connection extends further to (his wife) Alexandra’s family, given her dad is a trainer and her brother is the bloodstock agent for successful high-profile trainer Ciaron Maher.
Merrett has a share in Maher-trained filly Over The Bridge, along with Bombers teammate Sam Durham, which won a Group 3 race at Caulfield on the Sunday after the AFL grand final. He says the buzz of being trackside gets the butterflies going. “It was such a thrill to be there on Sunday and watch Over The Bridge get the win,” Merrett says.
“There were definitely a few nerves watching her come down the straight, but to see her get the job done and be there to celebrate afterwards was pretty special. It’s moments like that, that make being involved in racing so exciting.
“It has definitely given me a different appreciation. You see how much work goes into getting a horse to the track and how many people are involved behind the scenes, which makes it even more exciting when you get a result.”
The filly has a strong hand in this year’s Caulfield Cup, with the impressive horse to potentially target the Blue Sapphire Stakes.
Merrett will attend Sportsbet Caulfield Cup Day as a Cup ambassador, joining Melbourne Racing Club in celebrating the landmark 150th running of the Cup.
“I’m really excited to be partnering with Melbourne Racing Club this year,” he says. “Melbourne is such a great sporting city, and the Caulfield Cup is one of those events that feels like a real part of spring.
“It’s pretty special to be involved in such a milestone year. There’s obviously so much history attached to the race and to Caulfield, so it should be a massive day and a great occasion to experience with friends.
“For me, Caulfield Cup Day is a chance to get together with mates and enjoy a different side of Melbourne sport. You’ve got the racing, the atmosphere, food and entertainment, so there’s plenty happening across the whole day.”