Last offseason was dominated by the Hawthorn and Essendon battle to get a deal done for star midfielder Zach Merrett.
Talks went down to the final minutes, but the Bombers didn’t budge, and Zach was forced to stay at Essendon, in a move that we now know former coach Brad Scott wasn’t completely on board with.
As such, Merrett had to suck it up and play out this season with the Bombers, but that has hardly done anything for the noise that will no doubt come around again this offseason.
We know that Merrett wanted to leave, but the Bombers blocked that move. Will that happen again?
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Given how the trade talks went last offseason, I’d imagine that the relationship between the two clubs isn’t exactly good, and if it isn’t, the two might want to make up, as reporter Cal Twomey, who was on Footy Classified, stated Merrett still has eyes for the Hawks.
“His eyes are still firmly set on Hawthorn, still wants to get to Hawthorn,” Twomey said. “That is his No. 1 priority, doesn’t matter who is coaching there (Essendon) next year, that doesn’t change his view about moving to the Hawks. I think that’s where he wants to be.”
Will Merrett get to Hawthorn?
I think he will. Then again, I thought that last offseason, too.
But given where the Bombers are with their list, they can’t really afford not to grant Merrett’s wish and move him on.
Now, the Bombers certainly won’t get the package they were going to get last offseason (picks 10 and 22 plus a player), but anything Essendon can get now will go towards helping rejuvenate the list.
In truth, the move should have happened last year, and for whatever reason, Essendon played hardball when they shouldn’t have, because if the move didn’t happen last year, what did they think was going to happen in 2026? Wouldn’t he ask again?
The club forced Merrett to stay, and now they’ll likely get half of what Hawthorn offered last year.
Merrett should get to Hawthorn. It’s just a matter of when.