Cricket
Racing
Rugby
League
Motorsport
Football
Golf
Combat Sports
Basketball
Tennis
Other Sports
Sport Nation
Find your Sport Nation frequencyZach Merrett bullish on the Essendon young guns driving finals hope
Connor Scanlon • April 18th, 2025 11:14 am
Essendon captain Zach Merrett has heaped praise on the Bombers' emerging core following their impressive 39-point win over Melbourne in Gather Round.
Merrett singled out 2021 mid-season draft gem Sam Durham as a player with star potential, praising his toughness and versatility.
“He obviously shot onto the scene after being a mid-season (pickup),” Merrett said on SEN Breakfast.
“We noticed how tough he is in the contest and his ability to play as an inside and outside sort of bull.”
But Merrett believes Durham is only just getting started.
“(Sam Durham) hasn’t probably scratched the surface yet,” he said.
“He’s still learning what it takes or learning the way in which he needs to go about it to get to that next level.
“He’s played some really, really strong games, and we absolutely love playing with him.
“I think he’s got capacity to be in the upper-echelon of those inside mids that go forward, kick goals and take big marks.”
The captain also lauded Pick 10 from the 2020 draft, Zach Reid, who has returned to the senior side in 2025 after four years plagued by injury.
“He’s a super talented kid and works extremely hard,” Merrett said.
“He reads the game extremely well for a young player.
“Hopefully we can keep him on the park and allow him to flourish in that role.”
Other young Bombers including Jye Menzie, Ben Hobbs, and Archie Perkins also earned Merrett’s tick of approval.
“To see Menzie, Hobbs, Perkins showing signs and having big impact on games (is great),” he said.
“As an older player, you get super excited when you see younger players have a real impact.”
While the win over Melbourne keeps Essendon firmly in finals contention, Merrett says there’s still work to do.
“That ability to turnover and go forward and score, I think we’ve been okay in that space,” he said.
“But then the ability to defend that has been good at times and sometimes inconsistent… We know we’ve got a lot of work to do clearly.”
Despite Merrett acknowledging that more improvement is required, he was still bullish that the Bombers can play finals this year with the help of their youth.
The Dons next take on the winless West Coast at Optus Stadium on Friday night.
