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Cornes: Zach Merrett’s gone nuclear, a flag would be hollow
Kane Cornes • September 12th, 2025 10:11 am
Zach Merrett has handled this about as poorly as you can in my opinion.
This is a guy who has moaned about not being paid enough and the club gives him a long term deal and more money.
He has gone on about being a great teammate and changing the standards of the club and getting the results they want and at the first opportunity he has gone nuclear, absolutely nuclear.
It seems every year Zach is unhappy.
Now there is the prospect he wont turn up at the club’s Best and Fairest; he’s the captain of the club, a club he said he would help turn around.
If Essendon come back and become a successful club, this would be a huge story and he would have worn all the praise from this as one of their highest regarded players.
With two years left he’s gone and met with another coach and threatened not to turn up at the B&F. This lacks courage from Zach. Even if he goes on to win a premiership at Hawthorn – it will be a cheap one.
I don’t think this is about money. You committed yourself to the club. You publicly stated you would help young players through.
He has seven or eight years left in him. The rewards if he stayed and got the club back to success would far outreach going to Hawthorn and winning a flag – which there’s no guarantee of by the way.
This from Merrett hurts your reputation significantly.
I was certain (that Essendon won’t let him go) but now the teammates have come out talking so it becomes difficult. If 23 teammates come out and say they can’t play with him then not only can he not captain the club but he can’t play with them.
This is an easy out for Zach, one of the more easy outs you’ve ever seen. You don’t see Paddy Cripps do this, Matthew Pavlich didn’t, Nick Riewoldt didn’t – you know what he did, he dug in.
Merrett’s gone nuclear. You break a contract just after they’ve renegotiated it for you, he’s at the coach’s house 24 hours before meeting Hawthorn and you don’t tell the club.
Whether Essendon follow through and hold Zach to the contract, I don’t know, but we can’t sit here and not level any criticism at Zach.
What he has done lacks courage, it’s an easy out. If he goes to Hawthorn and swans in there and wins a premiership it’s a hollow one.
