Hawthorn president Andy Gowers has defended the Hawks’ decision to reject Essendon’s demands for Zach Merrett, declaring it would have been ridiculous to have acquiesced to the Bombers.
And club great Jason Dunstall said he never expected a “cordial” deal to be done, considering the bad blood between the two heavyweight clubs over the decades.
Zach Merrett met with Hawthorn, but a deal couldn’t be done.Credit: Getty Images
Merrett was desperate to join the Hawks during last week’s trade period, but the Hawks and Bombers could not agree to a deal.
The Hawks offered two first-round selections, a future first-rounder and fringe midfielder Henry Hustwaite, but the Bombers wanted four first-round selections and a second-rounder.
The two clubs were still haggling in the final hour before the trade deadline, but Merrett was forced to return to Essendon, where he is likely to lose the captaincy.
While Gowers said the Hawks were “disappointed” a deal could not be brokered for the self-driven midfielder, he said football department chief Rob McCartney had encapsulated the failed discussions best.
“He [McCartney] said accepting that offer would have been ridiculous, so we didn’t. You are not going to give away the farm. In the end, the deal wasn’t able to be done. That’s life, we get on with it. We look forward to the pre-season and the season ahead,” Gowers said on Tuesday.
“We had some bold plans and, sometimes, your bold plans don’t work out at the moment. But we have a longer picture here. We want sustained success. We don’t want to be a one-year wonder.
Hawthorn legends oversee the relocation of the John Kennedy Snr statue.Credit: Wayne Taylor
“We are after sustained success here … the history of this club, we are out there to win. So, we do feel like we make bold decisions and bold plans. And over the long term, we will have to look back one day and see how successful this era will be. At this stage, we are confident about where we are headed, and we move on.”
Gowers pointed to the return of Will Day, the club’s best player who missed the Hawks’ run to a preliminary final because of injury, as a reason why the Hawks should improve next season and remain in the premiership hunt.
Dunstall, the premiership great and former club chief executive, said the Hawks could not sell their soul.
“We didn’t get Merrett but, to be brutally honest, a cordial deal between Hawthorn and Essendon was highly unlikely when you look at the relationship between the two clubs historically. I would love to have seen him in a Hawthorn jumper, I think he had wanted to come, but it didn’t pan out,” Dunstall said.
“You can’t sell your soul. We did everything we possibly could. I think Zach did everything he possibly could. At the end of the day, you (Essendon) get a new president come in, and credit to Andrew Welsh, he planted his flag and said ‘this isn’t happening’, and it didn’t happen.
“Once the new president came in, I think there was no chance of getting a deal done.”
Club greats, including Michael Tuck, David Parkin, John Kennedy Jnr, Peter Hudson and Peter Knights, were at Waverley on Tuesday, as the Hawks’ statue of John Kennedy Snr was removed.
It will be relocated to the Hawks’ new multimillion-dollar base in Dingley, where the club is now set up. Kennedy, a former skipper and four-time best-and-fairest winner, remains the coaching godfather of the Hawks, who he turned from a once struggling suburban club into a powerhouse with three flags in 1961, 1971 and ’76.
Parkin, 83, was captain of that ’71 premiership side. He and Kennedy jnr were among those to recall how important Kennedy Snr was to lifting the club’s standing in the league.
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