Racing
League
Rugby
Cricket
Golf
Motorsport
Combat Sports
Football
Netball
Basketball
Other Sports
Sport Nation
"Great concern": Watson's fears for Essendon
Jaiden Sciberras • September 2nd, 2025 4:00 pm
At a time where senior experience is invaluable to the club, Essendon is facing the prospect of losing a myriad of their key mature players this trade period.
Reports across recent days has suggested that star defender Jordan Ridley is seeking a move away from the Bombers, with reported concerns over the side's medical department having spent significant time on the sidelines over the past two seasons.
Alongside Ridley, out-of-contract ruckman Sam Draper is also on the verge of a move interstate, with interest from the likes of Brisbane and Adelaide set to lure the 26-year-old away from The Hangar.
Midfielder Dylan Shiel has also departed the club, delisted as one of three players released since the turn of the off-season.
With both Ridley and Draper seeking a shift away from the youthful bottom-four dweller, and an incredibly extensive injury list hampering both the club's on-field performance and off-field reputation, is there any concern at the Dons?
Club legend Tim Watson certainly believes there's a sense of unease around the club.
"I know that what's been reported is that Jordan (Ridley) - and I had heard this a while ago too - that he's unhappy with the physical conditioning department, the fact that he breaks down all the time," Watson told SEN Breakfast.
"He wants to get out of that system and find himself somewhere where he's going be able to participate more regularly as a player.
"But I also know this, the club will not entertain the idea of him going.
"I'm not worried that he's going to go, but I am worried that we've got a football club where we're hearing that players are really unhappy.
"Sam Draper's gone. He's out the door, and if he goes, there's two clubs out there at the moment that are into him, probably the Brisbane Lions, it seems to be is the club he's going to.
"Maybe they don't want to announce that in the middle of what they're doing at the moment and disrupt their ruckman. You've got they've already got a ruckman in there all of a sudden that ruckman hears that somebody's coming in who's going to replace him, then maybe that's not what they want to have to be dealing with right in the middle of the finals."
SEN Breakfast co-host Garry Lyon referenced quotes from Damian Barrett on Footy Classified on Monday night, speaking on the concern surrounding Essendon captain Zach Merrett, and the whereabouts of his future.
"It's because there's a high degree of disillusionment inside Zach Merrett, that years of not winning and years of problems at the Essendon Football Club have left him in a situation now where he is continuing to reflect where he's at and where the club is at as part of that," Barrett said.
"He's contracted to 2027, that will continue to be the public default position, but I now fully expect, on what I've been told now in the past fortnight, that the clubs that have previously come for Zach Merrett will attempt to do so again."
Having been a reliable leader and a stable centrepiece for the club for several years, Watson expressed the incredible importance of Merrett both on and off the field, and the grave concerns over what his exit would mean for the franchise.
Watson: "On that point, can I just say this about about Zach Merrett; there's more than just losing a player here.
"From Essendon's perspective, I don't see this as the same as the Charlie Curnow situation because it's a philosophical thing that you're dealing with here too, and that is that you've got your leader, your captain.
"If that falls, if you allowed that bloke to walk out of your club, what is that saying to the rest of your playing group?
"That is the most damning statement on your club possible that your captain, your leader, the person that you would hope is in charge of the playing group and the feelings within the playing group or has control or has some say or has some influence over the playing group, has got to the point where he's so disillusioned that he wants to walk out on your club.
"You cannot allow that to happen where Essendon's at right now."
Lyon: "Are you concerned that you may lose your captain?"
Watson: "Yeah, I am concerned that there's still this disgruntlement around him. I think it is real. It has to be real, these things don't just get plucked out of thin air.
"They don't. And I had calls about him yesterday. They do not just get plucked out of thin air."
Lyon: "So that's, Draper, that's Ridley, that's Merrett."
"That's not a great picture."
Watson: "No, that is a great concern, and if you are at that football club, if you're at Essendon, you would have to be thinking, 'what is it about us - apart from the fact that we've failed miserably on field - is there anything else that is broken about our club right now, that we need to fix?'
"You've got to look internally because these players are out or they're disgruntled for reasons, and I can understand with Zach, you've been there a long time, you're 30 years of age, you're feeling that, 'I'm not going have success.'
"That's one way of looking at it. The other way is that, you move at this stage of your career... he's a much loved player of the Essendon Football Club.
"He's always going to be in the hearts and minds of the Essendon Football Club. He's one of the most successful individuals that the club's ever produced - it's a big move.
"It is a big move to chase some finals participation and maybe some finals glory, if that's what he wants to do."
