In making the call to hang on to their skipper Zach Merrett, rather than trade him to Hawthorn for a few handy rather than knockout draft picks, Essendon’s board decided his legacy to the club would prevail over pragmatism.
That’s fair enough.
Club figures such as Merrett can be pivotal to an era and he is, alongside former teammate Dyson Heppell, this era’s only shining light.
Bombers stars Zach Merrett and Andrew McGrath will lead the club into the next era, regardless of their titles.Credit: AFL Photos
So, having made that call to hang on to Merrett, it’s now the responsibility of everyone at the club to not only connect him to Essendon’s next high point, but make every moment he spends at the club enjoyable and worthwhile.
He deserves that, as long as he is prepared to accept he will still get much out of his experiences at the club moving forward.
Of course, footy is about winning. But it is also about belonging and contributing, and feeling valued.
Dean Solomon took a lead when he decided to move his life to Melbourne and become an assistant coach from next season. He resigned from the Essendon board to make the switch. Club president Andrew Welsh, a former Bombers teammate of Solomon, is working with Merrett, ensuring he is in a club that values him at every step.
Dean Solomon is a well-regarded coach and was a member of the Bombers’ 2000 premiership side.Credit: Getty Images
An accounting degree is needed to put into historical perspective the lack of on-field success Merrett has experienced at the Bombers.
It could help supporters of every hue to understand clearly what might have motivated Merrett to push so hard for a trade to Hawthorn. He may not have found the answer he was looking for at the Hawks, but it was fair enough for him to ask the question.
Because few modern-era players have reached 251 games with so few moments to celebrate as Merrett.
In 2025, there were 35 players on club lists who had played as many matches as Merrett’s 251. He was the only one of the 35 without a finals win, and every one of the 35, except Merrett, had played in a preliminary final. He is one of 13 in that experienced 2025 group to have not won a flag.
Only 7.7 per cent of players in the game’s history have reached 251 games without playing in a preliminary final, and only 5 per cent who have played 251 games or more played out their careers without playing in a preliminary final. Unless there’s a drastic change, Merrett will be part of that 5 per cent.
Essendon’s Heppell, Brent Stanton and Paddy Ryder, Carlton greats Marc Murphy, Bryce Gibbs and Kade Simpson and Richmond’s Chris Newman are the players familiar to modern fans who have finished up without that experience.
Dyson Heppell is one of the few who can understand Merrett’s experiences at Essendon.Credit: AFL Photos
That group contains names held in as high esteem as anyone in the game.
Melbourne’s Nathan Jones and Hawthorn’s Shane Crawford managed to play in preliminary finals after turning 30.
Crawford had the fairytale ending, but he was a club icon before then. Jones was on the list when the Demons broke through for their 2021 premiership but fell just short of making the team.
Former Richmond and GWS midfielder Brett Deledio played his only preliminary final after he made the reasonable call to move to the Giants, only to play it against the Tigers. That is a turn of events as heartbreaking as football can produce.
Merrett’s singular focus has been his greatest strength, and at times greatest weakness, but it has never stopped him yearning to be part of a team that is seriously contending for a flag.
As he said in his speech after accepting his sixth best and fairest, “Team success will always trump personal glory for me.”
He can be the biggest contributor to bringing team success to the Bombers if he can accept that may not include personal glory.
As of the end of the 2025 season, only 17 per cent of players on lists who have played at least one game (114 of 668 players) are premiership players. That means 83 per cent of the competition is in the same boat as Merrett.
Fremantle skipper Matthew Pavlich was in a similar situation to Merrett at the end of 2011, with just one preliminary final to go with his six best and fairests and the captaincy.
His attitude was, rightly or wrongly, clear as he invested in his legacy to improve the club. He played in a grand final at 31 and left with the football world’s highest regard.
Pavlich found fulfilment in the little wins, the journey, the reality that life inside a football club can be what you make of it, as retired Port Adelaide great Travis Boak learned from his then skipper Dom Cassisi when Boak was contemplating leaving early in his time at the club.
“Remember, no matter how bad it is, how bad it feels around the place right now, it’s still f—ing good. It’s still such an honour,” Cassisi said.
Merrett has endured more than most. He’s not been perfect, but who at Essendon has been in the past 15 years? It’s time to roll out the red-and-black carpet for him when he arrives back for pre-season.
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