One incident I saw was cause for concern. In the 3rd I think. A GWS player got the ball, Zach was about one metre behind him. Zach pushed off to chase him, then just pulled back, and the GWS player ran off. Assuming he didnt “give up” I think that can be interpreted as a twinge of pain.
I think he will be out this week tbh. Darcy to come in.
This has Daniher of last season written all over it. We will deny he is injured until he “gets” early onset of something in 6 weeks time that will cost him a season and a half.
Disgusting effort from one of our leadership group in the first quarter when we were still in the game. Hope to never see that from him for the rest of his career.
I reckon this guy must be injured or not ready to play
Never seen him so bad
just rest him and play Clarke- its a no brainer really
He carries to much loan in any event-
He carries too much load in any event-
Agree he has credits in the bank.
But his time to show something was in the second half… not the following week.
Showing up with 100% effortthis week is an obligation, not a luxury.
Yes…Woosha claimed in his presser today that Merrett was fit and there are no injuries problems there.
Just like he did last year with Daniher until he missed the rest of the season with OP.
So given that track record there is clearly something wrong with Merrett.
If Zac wasn’t right to play( I don’t believe a word worsfold said after last year with joe) then he should of said I can’t play
Don’t ever put yourself ahead of the team
He’s been called out for some of those efforts (if you can call them that). Given his history and ferocity at the contest with and without the football, I agree with most that suggest he is playing injured. It’s just not what he’s about. I think we can safely say this has been a diabolical pre-season and Round 1 was a culmination of all of it.
Those efforts he put in would be close to the worst I’ve ever seen by an Essendon player.
Even if not fit u try to get the most out of your body. He looked mentally disinterested, which to me is a bigger concern than him being unfit.
If these guys are once again having a sook about a certain coaching staff member or game style then sack the whole lot of them. Bunch of spoilt brats.
Under-fire Essendon midfielder Zach Merrett was suffering a virus when he took the field against Greater Western Sydney on Sunday at Giants Stadium.
The 23-year-old managed to get up to play the game but put in a below-par performance, collecting just 16 disposals and applying little pressure.
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Zach Merrett was battling illness in round one.CREDIT:AAP
Merrett’seffort was the subject of much discussion after the game and one particular contest midway through the first quarter drew heavy criticism from former club greats such as Tim Watson, who described it as “not up to AFL standard”.
The Bombers cleared Merrett to play, aware that he had worked his way through such issues at other times during his 104-game career, however he struggled during the match.
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Merrett is expected to be fine to play against St Kilda this weekend and the Bombers were keen to not look for excuses after the 72-point loss, with senior coach John Worsfold saying more than one midfielder performed below expectation in round one.
Merrett is also understood to have taken full ownership of his performance and was not keen for the virus to be discussed publicly in case it was seen as an excuse.
He also had an interrupted pre-season after rolling his ankle in the lead up to the JLT.
After being in a moonboot for several weeks he played just 17 per cent of the first JLT game and then played against Geelong and was well prepared for round one.
Merrett, who won Essendon’s 2016 best and fairest, is one of the game’s emerging midfielders.
His round one performance was only the fifth time since 2015 that Merrett had collected as few as 16 disposals in a game.
I doubt he had a virus, why would they play him if he was that bad?
I seem to remember too that they said that the players got a virus at the start of last year too. so many excuses
Well, it does explain why the rest of the team got infected. As has been said, they are focusing on caring for each other.
We played Daniher for 7 games last season when he was clearly not right…
Have all the players had a virus for the last month, including during JLT matches???
Unlikely.
I think they’re telling the truth that Merrett had a virus. He was clearly not right and obviously made the decision to play. If your not in the leadership group, I doubt you get to make that call yourself.
The rest of the group tho… I it they have had a virus.
Essendon = rank amateurs
Any player under a cloud should be required to pass a fitness test.
And it looks like we need to make our fitness tests a lot tougher.
The club is simply not as professional as it would like to think it is. Injured and sick players simply should not play for their own welfare and those around them. A club that struggles to learn is not going anywhere. Zerrett also had a duty to declare he was not fit to play if he was truly that ill. Selfish action but in what environment is this happening? Are players encouraged to be “that” honest for the good of the team and themselves?
Can’t put myself through watching a replay of the game. Did anyone notice what quarter it was that Merrett went head first into the ground in a tackle? I thought he may have suffered some concussion from it. His arms were pinned and the tackler just seemed to dive on him. I was surprised no one mentioned it in the commentary. Looked pretty dangerous at the time. His performance was so un Merrett like there had to be a reason. I’m just wondering if that had an impact?
So the “Tullamarine Virus” is a thing now.
