"Let him go": Scott wanted Bombers to let Merrett exit

Exiled Essendon coach Brad Scott has revealed his position on former captain Zach Merrett, expressing his desire to allow Merrett to leave the club - opposing the decision of the board.

In a tell-all interview with Channel 7's The Agenda Setters on Tuesday night, Scott - who was sacked from his role as head coach of the Essendon Football Club in the early hours of Tuesday morning - stated that it wasn't his decision to hold onto Merrett, but that of those above him.

Over the 2025 off-season, the then captain made it abundantly clear that he wanted to leave the club, nominating Hawthorn as his ideal trade destination despite still having multiple years to run on a lucrative contract.

Hawthorn sent the Bombers multiple offers to acquire Merrett's services, however, all of which were turned down - including an offer that would have landed Essendon three first round picks and young Hawk Henry Hustwaite - an ideal return for a rebuilding side.

Essendon stood firm on their decision to keep Zach Merrett at the club, however, when asked if he agreed with the call, Scott was rather blunt in his answer.

"No," he said.

"My view was that Zach had given an incredible service to the Essendon Football Club.

"He'd been through multiple strategies, multiple coaches been made promises on multiple occasions.

"I believe he reached a point where... my view was always, you invest in the team and you put the team first. Zach found that really hard to do at the end of last year.

"I felt for him and I felt for his family. So I didn't think he was being selfish. I thought he had been promised things over and over again.

"He was at his wit's end and he couldn't invest in the team anymore. Now he certainly does through his actions on field, but, my view was that we should let him go.

"But the club's view was that we should keep him. So again, my view is what the club's view is. And I fronted that."

Despite Merrett continuing to play good football for the club, the six-time club best and fairest refused to commit himself to the club long-term in recent weeks.

With that in mind, Scott was questioned as to whether he believes his former club should let Merrett go at the conclusion of this season.

He was once again very certain of his answer.

"Yeah," he said.

"I do because I think it's the right thing for him and it's the right thing for the club.

"I think it would be mutually beneficial for both, but that was my view at the end of last year."