Interesting. Zach didn’t speak with the club about wanting out? That’s pretty ■■■■■■. Was this clarified in the media? Or do you personally know this as fact? Not trying to be disrespectful so I apologise in advance. Just that a lot of people, myself included, present subjective opinion in a light that appears more factual than it is. Thanks heaps for your insights.
Whateley wouldn’t give more than pick 8. Thinks Merrett will go to Hawthorn and be a nice piece, nothing more.
I would pay good money to see that, please do it
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I do admire the sincerity of your post but I have to disagree
There is no way back for Zach
And neither should there be. For a lot of reasons but mostly because of the very reason he wants to leave in the first place. He simply won’t be a part of our future return up the ladder. No player 29 plus will be or if they are still playing will only be clogging the list.
Our rebuild is now just as it was for the Hawks a few years ago when they cut several Premiership hero’s to pursue a youth policy. And despite some rough years they are now back in the mix for another flag.
The fact is the club probably should have offered Zach a way out before this all blew up! His currency in players and or picks is prime right now.
So no, even if he wanted back in the club would be INSANE to even consider it.
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I see being warm and fuzzy, teaching young players as Brad’s job. Not Zac or any of the senior players.
After all, Brad isn’t working on the game plan or anything like that. His mantra is detoxing the club, setting new standards and all that.
Apart from a few favourites he doesn’t get close to the players.
All as reported. Every report has been consistent. Zach didn’t speak to club prior to meeting with Hawthorn. Hasn’t been disputed by Zach or his management.
Why do you think there has been such a strong supporter backlash against him. He has done this in the worst way possible
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Also note it is his opinion on what he is worth to Hawthorn, not what his worth might be on the open market. Slight difference
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He’s wrong regardless. Merrett could easily win a b & f at Hawthorn next year and could be the difference in winning a flag.
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You’re so full of ■■■■, please stop, you’re embarrassing yourself
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Yeh it seems so
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I tell you what, I would rather Merrett sit out the next 2 years, than give Hawthorn Merrett for even Market value. We deserve overs, simply because he is contracted. Otherwise, we can trade him elsewhere.
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Whateley was once a voice of reason, he now drinks his own bath water and has become just as painful as most other main stream media “gurus”.
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I know others want a lot more, but I think it’ll liking be pick 8 (hopefully 10) and 2026 1st.
Hawthorn need to get this done
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Then you’d be acting like an immature wanker like Dodoro
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Fair call. I do also think we should trade and this is our best chance in years to do all this rebuild stuff properly. I could even get on board with Brad as long as he doesn’t just replace Zach with list cloggers like Gresham.
I guess I was just trying to lay out a way forward that could still work if a trade doesn’t get done, rather than playing him the VFL for two years as penance that some are advocating.
You’re truly not putting yourself in his place though.
You’re putting yourself in his place with your bias, not his.
I’m pretty confident he prefers Scott’s way of team selection (best available at all times). He’s mentioned shorter lists and VFL is for development which is in line with what Scott does. I don’t think he has a grudge with Scott or his gameplan.
I’d say it’s more around his teammates and their ability to do simple things (defensively and offensively) to get the best out of everyone else.
I’d also guess he doesn’t rate the younger players as highly as we do. And he also thinks we’re further away than we were at any time since we sacked our last coach. It’s not a stretch for both to be correct. And now most here are pointing at Merrett as leading the charge to sack the last coach who played the kids.
He’s more concerned about the support around him (the second and third tier) now than he was a year or two ago and whether more of them will jump ship and be replaced with another kid that takes three years just to get half way up to Merrett’s level.
Yes, he has an ego. It’s not figjam, but it’s more around confidence and consistent performance. He’s a farking great player and should have an ego. He’s bloody earned it with how he has performed in his whole career. It puts every other player on our list to shame in comparison.
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If you’re only way to preserve your own ego is to try and sabotage those that follow you then not only is your legacy pure dog ■■■■, but deep down you actually know it is.
Otherwise why would Dodoro and his disciples do this.
Vested interest in ongoing failure.
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He also just said if he was Essendon, there is no way known he would let him go for just 1 first rd pick
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What do you call lowball?
I find it hard to believe they would be lowballing us as they are widely regarded throughout the industry for offering a fair price and even overs if they are set on a target.
Whether Essendon feels that it’s a fair price is up to them or not but I’d suspect we probably want overs. Eventually they probably meet in the middle somewhere I’d think
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