Lifelong Bomber? Why Merrett isn’t fully committing

Zach Merrett isn’t about to fully commit himself to Essendon.

The Bombers star was almost out the door last trade period but his club was unable to strike a deal with Hawthorn on deadline day.

As a result of his desire to depart The Hangar he was stripped of the captaincy and was forced to remain with the Dons who then reportedly offered him a multi-year deal in March.

Merrett, 30, is contracted until 2027, but will he remain a lifelong Bomber?

It’s something he doesn’t want to commit to given things can change so quickly in the footy landscape.

“I always did (see myself as a Bomber for life), which is going to sound silly now given the last six months we’ve had,” he said on SEN’s The Run Home.

“I think I’ve said this many a time, every time my head would hit the pillow I would be envisioning myself running out on Grand Final day on the MCG in an Essendon jersey.

“I then got to the point late last year where I started to really challenge whether that was a possibility. I felt that I needed a fresh start and felt the club was in a clear rebuild and would have liked the draft picks. I felt like it was a very mutual position to be in.

“Whilst notwithstanding that I knew I was in a contract. I signed that four years ago, and I had no one else to blame that I had to stay at the footy club.

“At this point in time I see myself in red and black but after last year I’m not going to put myself in set stone.”

Merrett made the mistake of speaking emphatically of his loyalty and commitment to Essendon amid trade rumours last July.

He’s not about to do the same again in 2026.

“I know that sounds like I’m dodging the question but I’m not going to hold myself (to anything) given last year’s commitment on (Fox Footy’s) AFL360 and then things changed in three months,” he continued.

“Like we’re seeing with Carlton (and Michael Voss), we’re in this surviving space where clubs always have to prioritise themselves and where they’re positioning and what their future looks like. As players we’ve got to try and maximise our time in the game, enjoy it was much as we can.

“I’ve played 260 games, I pinch myself every day, I was a chubby cricketer coming through high school. To have played one AFL game still amazes me. I just think I’m in the dream job every day, I’m so fortunate.

“Whatever my career looks like in the next six or seven years will be a blessing.”

Listen to the full chat with Merrett below:

In response to those comments, Bombers legend Tim Watson isn’t exactly brimming with confidence that Merrett will remain in the red and black for the long-term.

“No, it doesn't (inspire me),” Watson said on SEN Breakfast.

But he does believe that what Merrett said was extremely pragmatic given the series of events that have occurred previously.

“I don't have a problem with it at all. I think it's a very mature response on his behalf,” he added.

“He knows where he was over 12 months ago, or not even 12 months ago, but probably at some stage during the year he was thinking about what he might do at the end of last season.

“He didn't get to go where he wanted to go, understands the lay of the land, and probably understands too - and maybe the club's had a conversation with him and said, ‘Look, if somebody came to us at the end of this year and offered us a good deal for you, would you entertain that?’. I don't know that that conversation's even been had, but that's where the Bombers are at. They're in a reset.

“If somebody came to Essendon at the end of this year, say Essendon were to finish where they currently are on the ladder, 17th, they will get an early draft pick. Possibly if somebody came to them, maybe it's Hawthorn again, that will nibble and have a better deal than last time and say, ‘Listen, we still want Zach Merrett, this is the deal we're prepared to offer’ - Essendon would have to look at it.

“So I think he's being a pragmatist. I'm just saying that he's got an open mind about it, which I think is a mature way for him to respond to that question.”

Watson believes the Dons would have done the deal with the Hawks last year if there was a better offer on the table despite president Andrew Welsh saying under no circumstances would they offload him.

“I think if they had have had a better deal on the table, then they would have had their head turned, which they didn't. There wasn't a head-turning deal being offered by Hawthorn last year,” he said further.

“I’m not speaking on behalf of Andrew Welsh, but I'm just saying that if there was a better deal, then maybe there would have been a stronger consideration for doing the deal, but it just didn't come.”

“There may have been some brinksmanship which was applied to all that as well.

“But I think at this stage of Zach Merrett’s career, I applauded the fact that they kept him and I think that you need to. I think there's enough evidence around, if you really want to develop young talent, then you need some very good seasoned professional players around them. There's enough evidence to suggest that out there in the AFL world right now, which is why I supported the fact that they kept him.”

Brad Scott, Merrett and the Dons have lost four on the trot and currently sit second bottom on the ladder with a 1-8 record.

They next meet second-placed Fremantle at the MCG on Sunday.