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Sport Nation
The time legendary Hawk almost joined the Bombers
SEN • September 17th, 2025 9:58 am
Zach Merrett’s desire to join the Hawks from Essendon has been as unprecedented of an off-season move in recent history.
However just over a decade ago, the shoe was very nearly on the other foot.
In 2012, Hawthorn finished atop the AFL ladder, winning 17 games to claim the first minor premiership within the 18-team era.
Led by star midfielder and former captain Sam Mitchell, the Hawks defeated Collingwood and narrowly scraped by the Crows behind some Buddy Franklin brilliance to progress to the Grand Final, setting up a vintage clash between Hawthorn and the Swans.
Despite a hot start, the Hawks couldn’t muster a win, falling by 10 points in front of nearly 100,000 people at the MCG.
At the time, Mitchell – who finished in equal second in the Brownlow Medal count and was eventually awarded the honour - was entering the off-season without a contract, as his initial two-year extension from 2010 reached its expiry.
And while it seemed a formality that the skipper would re-sign, Essendon legend James Hird lifted the lid on Mitchell’s desire to leave the club.
“It’s interesting with the whole Sam Mitchell side of things,” Hird said on Nine’s Footy Classified.
“We got a call from Peter Lenton, Sam Mitchell’s agent back in 2012, saying that Sam Mitchell wants to come to Essendon.
“We were quite shocked, Adrian Dodoro rang Graham Wright at the Hawthorn Football Club (recruiting and list manager at the time), saying we wanted to trade for Sam Mitchell, and he said, ‘no way!’
“I think Sam Mitchell was signed up (with the Hawks) two weeks later.
“Everyone thinks that Essendon players can’t go to Hawthorn… we almost got a Hawthorn player to Essendon!”
Staying with the Hawks, Mitchell went on to win three straight premierships before retiring in 2017.
As the coach of Hawthorn, Sam Mitchell has met with two club captains in 2025, sitting down with both West Coast’s Oscar Allen and Bomber Zach Merrett over the course of the season.
