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The "obvious" choice for Essendon captaincy
Jaiden Sciberras • November 27th, 2025 5:34 pm
Following Zach Merrett's decision to step down from his captaincy, Essendon must now determine who next to lead the club.
Off the back of a tumultuous trade period surrounding Merrett's desire to leave the club, the six-time best and fairest made the call to step down from his role as captain - a decision that was ultimately inevitable.
Entering a transitional period between young and old, the Bombers' leadership core is as crucial as ever, and in light of circumstances, Merrett was far from fit to lead despite his credentials over years past.
Given the complications, Geelong legend Cam Mooney believes that taking matters into his own hands and stepping down on his own accord was the correct call.
“Yes, he has (made the right call). He fell on his sword, and I think he had to,” he told SEN Breakfast.
“It’s better than the club saying it. He stepped down, not the club stepping him down. It was going to be made either way. I’m glad that he did it.”
In discussion with co-host Sam Edmund, Mooney discussed the difficulty in stepping in to the role given the state of the club.
In 2025, the Bombers set an AFL record, debuting 15 players over the course of the season. Finishing in the bottom four, Essendon embarked on yet another rebuild, commencing pivotal list turnover surrounding new faces and a fresh identity.
The importance of a united leadership core to lead the young group is critical, and both Mooney and Edmund settled on their first choice option to take over from Merrett in 2026.
Mooney: “My only concern is, looking through the list, who takes over? At the moment, it’s a really tough job to take over as well. They haven’t been a great club for a long time.
“Are they back rebuilding, what are they trying to do with this list… taking over right now, it’s a really tough one. Having a look at the list, we’re talking about (Andrew) McGrath and (Mason) Redman, there’s not too many others that really jump out.”
Edmund: “(Sam) Durham’s got a few mentions but again, he’s only in the infancy of his AFL career. Kyle Langford has had his injury problems as of late.
“He’d be fine for the role wouldn’t he, Andy McGrath?”
Mooney: “I think he is the obvious choice, but I wouldn’t sit here and say he’s going to jump out at me.”
Edmund: “if we’re talking about the role that he plays, Shannon Hurn was the captain of great acclaim at West Coast as a back pocket/half back flanker, a defender, and after being taken at Pick 1, maybe that’s all Andrew McGrath will be.
“I say that will all due respect because he plays the role fine, but that doesn’t mean he can’t be captain. He’s got the respect, he was the vice-captain, he’s in the leadership group – I think he would do the job fine with support from Zach.”
Mooney: “I would put McGrath as my number one.”
Edmund: “Jye Caldwell is not a bad shout – I like the way that Jye plays, befitting of a lead from the front captain makeup. But Andy McGrath has been there for a period of time now, and in that setup since being drafted.
“I think it would be obvious.”
Mooney: “We talk about McGrath being an ex-number one, never quite lived up to those heights. This might just be the thing that takes him to where we thought he was going to be.”
Listen to the full chat below:
