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"Alcatraz": Hawks' Instagram sledge after failed trade
SEN • October 16th, 2025 10:34 am
AFL Trade has come and gone. Some clubs excelled in bolstering their rosters, other posted disappointing results.
We dissect the trade period, the winners and losers and bring you all the reaction from our talent.
Essendon renamed Alcatraz?
Hawthorn's failure to get the Zach Merrett trade over the line prompted some interesting social media commentary from Blake Hardwick and other players as the trade deadline ticked over on Thursday night.
Despite Merrett's insistence he wanted out of the Bombers and Hawthorn's apparent willingness to do as much as they deemed possible to secure the deal, Essendon stood their ground as they had since the first hint of a possible trade.
Ever since it emerged that Merrett had met with Sam Mitchell to discuss his future, Essendon were resolute their captain was going nowhere, and, now that he will have to stay, Hardwick took to social media to compare the Bombers to Alcatraz jail.
Alcatraz refers to the tiny island in San Francisco Bay which was once the location of a maximum-security federal prison.
Posting an image of the Essendon logo, Hardwick then added an image of the prison which closed in the 1960s.
It attracted reactions from other players with Nick Watson commenting "not wrong" before Jack Ginnivan added laughing emojis.
The initial post of the club logo was deleted.
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