{"id":866610,"date":"2026-08-24T11:20:13","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T11:20:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/866610\/"},"modified":"2026-08-24T11:20:13","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T11:20:13","slug":"distressed-asset-greats-call-to-hijack-merrett-trade-as-hird-sliding-doors-moment-revealed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/866610\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Distressed asset\u2019: Great\u2019s call to hijack Merrett trade as Hird sliding doors moment revealed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Melbourne great Garry Lyon has implored rival clubs across the league to pursue former Essendon captain Zach Merrett, with the star midfielder all but certain to seek an exit for a second year straight.<\/p>\n

Fresh off the Bombers\u2019 confirmation that Mark McVeigh will be the club\u2019s head coach<\/a> for at least the next three years, the Herald Sun reported Merrett had been prepared to stay at Essendon<\/a> had James Hird instead been appointed.<\/p>\n

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Merrett unsuccessfully attempted to join Hawthorn in last year\u2019s trade period, with Essendon rejecting all advances made by their long-time rivals for the then-captain. <\/p>\n

It has been widely expected across the industry that the 31-year-old will end up at the Hawks this October. However, speaking on Fox Footy\u2019s AFL 360 on Monday night, Lyon reminded other clubs that the contracted star\u2019s move is not yet a \u201cfait accompli\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s being treated as a bit of a distressed asset at the moment; which is an interesting observation, and one you don\u2019t share,\u201d AFL 360 host Gerard Whateley said to Lyon.<\/p>\n

Lyon responded: \u201cThere\u2019s this narrative that Hawthorn are going to get him cheap, because he nearly got there last year and it didn\u2019t quite work … if you\u2019re a club that wants a classy, star midfielder \u2014 he is there for the taking!<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019re North Melbourne, you\u2019re going, if you\u2019re St Kilda, the Western Bulldogs, you\u2019re going! What an asset he would be. He\u2019d be a great asset to Hawthorn … but don\u2019t just lie down and think it\u2019s a \u2018fate de compli\u2019.<\/p>\n

McVeigh set for Essendon job over Hird | 05:55<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is rare quality here, that it would appear, is on offer. If you want to make yourself better, he\u2019s 30 years of age and a professional … go after Zach Merrett \u2014 he makes you better.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat would Geelong do? Of course they (ask)!\u201d<\/p>\n

Battered and bruised, Merrett\u2019s last game for the 2026 season was a stellar one, collecting 32 disposals and a crucial goal deep in the fourth quarter that nearly proved a match-winner. <\/p>\n

His major proved the Bombers\u2019 last, but unfortunately not the Power\u2019s, with Port Adelaide kicking the final two goals of the match to regain the lead and lock their opponents in for the wooden spoon.<\/p>\n

\u201cI thought this was symbolic of the whole Zach Merrett-Essendon relationship. He\u2019s playing with a broken cheek, he\u2019s playing with a busted arse. He kicks a goal with a minute and a half to put them in front,\u201d Lyon added.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s done everything he possibly can, and within 30 seconds, a goal is kicked at the other end and the game is gone.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a man who\u2019s about to win his seventh best-and-fairest … and right at the death, maybe his last action as an action player (he says): \u2018I\u2019ll lead you again and get you in front \u2014 I\u2019ll do everything I possibly can.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Bombers turned down the Hawks\u2019 offer<\/a> of Pick 10, 22, a future first-round selection and midfielder Henry Hustwaite for Merrett last October, in a deal that now looks likely to be worth far less.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Melbourne great Garry Lyon has implored rival clubs across the league to pursue former Essendon captain Zach Merrett,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":866611,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-866610","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-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/866610","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=866610"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/866610\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/866611"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=866610"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=866610"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=866610"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}