{"id":354029,"date":"2025-12-17T14:09:19","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T14:09:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/354029\/"},"modified":"2025-12-17T14:09:19","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T14:09:19","slug":"andy-mcgrath-to-replace-zach-merrett-as-essendons-captain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/354029\/","title":{"rendered":"Andy McGrath to replace Zach Merrett as Essendon\u2019s captain"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former No.1 draft pick Andrew McGrath has been confirmed as Essendon\u2019s<\/a> new captain, replacing Zach Merrett following the superstar Bomber\u2019s failed trade request to Hawthorn.<\/p>\n

The popular McGrath, who has played 180 games since debuting in 2017, was officially unveiled as Essendon skipper on the same day highly respected chief executive Craig Vozzo quit.<\/a><\/p>\n

Defender McGrath received \u201coverwhelming approval\u201d from the Essendon playing group to become the club\u2019s 42nd captain.<\/p>\n

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Arrow<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cThis is a well-deserved achievement and a fitting honour for someone who\u2019s frequently set the example of exactly what an Essendon person should be,\u201d Essendon football boss Daniel McPherson said on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re thrilled for Andy and we know he\u2019ll handle the responsibility with the level of character and dedication we\u2019ve grown accustomed to seeing from him.\u201d<\/p>\n

It ends a difficult year for the Bombers, who finished 15th and had to deal with superstar Merrett wanting to leave for Hawthorn.<\/p>\n

\"FormerFormer No.1 draft pick Andrew McGrath will replace Zach Merrett as Essendon\u2019s captain. Credit: Getty<\/p>\n

Essendon refused to accept any offers for the Hawks to trade Merrett and he will remain at the club in 2026.<\/p>\n

But it became untenable for him to remain captain, with Merrett eventually giving up the role voluntarily before he was forced to.<\/p>\n

Kyle Langford, Mason Redman, the injured Nic Martin, Sam Durham, Jye Caldwell and Gold Coast recruit Brayden Fiorini have been named in the leadership group alongside McGrath.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Vozzo, a former West Coast football boss, has decided to step down as CEO, three years after being appointed to the role following the disastrous and short tenure of Andrew Thorburn.<\/p>\n

Just eight days before Christmas, Vozzo informed the club he wanted to relocate to South Australia, declaring it had been a \u201cgreat honour and privilege\u2019\u2018 to lead Essendon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been living away from my home and my wider family and friends back in South Australia for 15-plus years now,\u201d Vozzo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy initial three-year contract was coming to an end, which gave me the opportunity to reflect on my future.<\/p>\n

\u201cFollowing the conclusion of our AFLW season and men\u2019s draft, I returned to South Australia for a few weeks to be around family and my closest friends, to have some quiet time to deeply reflect.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn that time, it really reinforced to me that it is the right time in my life to take a step back from the CEO role and further prioritise my family ahead of my career.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis has been one of the most difficult decisions I\u2019ve ever had to make, because I love this football club and everything it stands for to so many.\u201d<\/p>\n

Chief operating officer Nick Ryan will be acting CEO until a permanent replacement is appointed.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

CEO drops fresh bombshell on fading AFL powerhouse<\/p>\n

3 min read<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n

Famous AFL family inconsolable after draft bombshell: \u2018What?\u2019<\/p>\n

2 min read<\/p>\n

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former No.1 draft pick Andrew McGrath has been confirmed as Essendon\u2019s new captain, replacing Zach Merrett following the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":354030,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,11231,1625,3863,588,85],"class_list":["post-354029","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-essendon-bombers","tag-lifestyle","tag-sponsored-content","tag-sport","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354029","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=354029"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354029\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/354030"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=354029"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=354029"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=354029"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}