Always a very interesting point, we see a player not going as well. But sometimes don’t consider that the coaches have instructed a change in role. Which said player struggles to adapt too.
Going early here. This bloke will be BOG (for us) tonight. Some of the comments in here have been a tad harsh for mine.
I reckon a combo of factors may have seen his game (slightly) slip from its lofty heights. The concussions, struggling to shake a tag, poor habits creeping in. Saying that, he is still ranked 20th in the comp for total tackles at 35 (so average 5 per game). That’s very decent and number 1 for our team. Disposal numbers are still very good (averaging 29 - second only to Shiel on 30 - with Heppell 3rd on 25).
Has been a bit hesitant at contests & is looking for more outside ball, but has still been one of our better players - minus a couple of games. I think punters have been way too harsh on him. Will respond tonight and many will wake up again to his quality. Go Zerrett - you gun!
He’s looking great. Also my supercoach vice captain 
Not sure if this was posted in another thread but great article by Merrett.
‘Join me — this is about more than footy’: Zach Merrett’s powerful pledge to stand up for gender equality
- May 7, 2019 6:53pm
- ZACH MERRETT@zachmerrett07
- Source: FOX SPORTS
Essendon midfielder Zach Merrett is taking a stand.Source: Getty Images
Recently I was sitting in the physiotherapist’s office at Essendon chatting to some teammates and the conversation turned to that wonderful picture of Tayla Harris kicking a football during the AFLW season.
Taken by AFL photographer Michael Wilson, it dawned on me the image is more a cultural symbol than an action picture.
It represents how far we’ve come but how far we still have to go.
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Some of the comments that accompanied the initial social media post were disgusting, but the support that followed from the AFLW and AFL community was uplifting.
I will never know why the conversation in the physio room took a pivot towards sexism in our game and inequality in Australia, but I’m glad it did.
It made me think deeply about the problems we are facing. It made me want to talk and write to reconcile them. And it made me want to act to help fix the issue. Now.
Michael Wilson’s famous image of Tayla Harris.Source: Getty Images
My experience is not unlike many footballers my age. A decade ago I was playing under 12s at Cobden Football Club. In my team were two girls: Abbey Clarke and Cheyenne Rohan. Abbey would play and then boundary umpire the Under 14s game immediately after. They were two of our best players. Without female changing rooms, they would get dressed before arriving at the ground.
I clearly recall other teams referencing them more than any boy. It was then I realised ‘playing like a girl’ was a shocking insult, but not to the boy who was copping the abuse. No, it was an insult to these two girls, who had to deal with the negative connotations around the slogan every time they played.
We’d try to stick up for them and protect them, but often opposition players, coaches and even parents would just laugh as if it was a joke. It was never a joke to me and still isn’t.
In the physio’s office at Essendon, I realised playing alongside Abbey and Cheyenne allowed me to appreciate the need for complete equality from a young age as more than just a half-baked pipedream from men in powerful positions.
Cobden Under 12s, featuring Zach Merrett (in the helmet).Source: FOX SPORTS
At the time, boys had a clear dream of playing AFL, while girls did not, rather, they could not. There was no AFLW competition. For other teams playing against us, it was almost a novelty getting out-run or out-marked by a girl. But Abbey and Cheyenne were both guns and were legitimate players in their own right, regardless of gender.
I appreciate the league deserves great credit for creating and growing the female competition, but we have so far to go, as the reaction to the Harris photo illustrated.
With these thoughts fresh in my mind, I was invigorated by a brilliant article earlier this month published on The Players’ Tribune website. It was written by Utah Jazz NBA star Kyle Korver, who has white skin.
In the piece, he explained in blunt terms why every time a racist remark gets aimed at a ethically diverse teammate, he feels hurt. He spoke of his growing intolerance to racial vilification. It was powerful and moving. It struck a deep chord with me and is a big reason why I’m writing this piece.
Zach Merrett has decided to take a stand against casual sexism.Source: Getty Images
I feel the same way about sexism in the AFL as Korver does about racism in the NBA. (Not that racism is no longer an issue in footy, but this article is about sexism. I understand many of the principles are transferable though).
I’m sick and tired of men — not all men — sitting back and saying ‘that’s wrong’ without actually doing something about it. The time to act is now and I want to help alter the way we appreciate girls in football for the benefit of our community. Not everyone will feel as strongly as me, and that’s fine, but my way is to be more than just a voice.
I understand most people in the AFL industry have good intentions and I know Cheyenne in particular loves seeing female players more accepted than ever.
But aside from playing footy and winning games for Essendon, I want to create a legacy that anyone else can join in on. I will not stand for casual sexism, abuse that is camouflaged as humour, or anything that puts down the very women that have for so long felt like second class citizens in footy.
As Korver wrote in his article: “If you’re wearing my jersey at a game, know that about me. If you’re planning to buy my jersey for someone else, know that about me, (and) If you’re following me on social media, know that about me.”
People say we have two choices: To speak up or stay quiet. I disagree. I think I have three choices.
I can stay quiet, which I will not do. I can speak up, which I am. But the third choice is to act, which I will do to the best of my ability.
Now you know that about me. Join me. This is about more than footy.
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Scott Cummins gave Merret a huge spray about a lack of defensive intent on Saturday. Said he watched him very closely. Now Zerret has had some games where his defensive intensity has been poor this year but the highlights package the club has put out for Zach’s game on Saturday included four big tackles. I assume this was done intentionally to counter the criticism. But if he says he was watching him closely on Saturday and saw no defensive intent he must have been watching the wrong number. Reeks of someone who had heard the criticism before this game and was going to ping him for it this game regardless of how he played.
Scott Cummings should stick to showing genuine intent at the pie-warmer IMO.
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funny how I was just going to write in the dev Smith chat how zerrett has covered for dev in his absence/ underperforming compared to last year. Zac was tackling ferociously vs freo- pulling down and crunching fyfe at least twice, and one tackle I recall being shocked that he managed to stick it at all. Zac had been terrific after his slow start to the season
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I am shocked to hear that Cummings would say that/see that.
Zerrett is my favorite player.
Zach is easily our best tackler but did he mean that he doesn’t run back when opposition has the ball in transition as opposed to laying tackles around the contest?
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Cummings is an idiot.
Merrett has been awesome this year.
He’s 12th in the whole AFL for tackles and 5th for pressure acts. Apparently that doesn’t count as defending? Give me a fkn break.
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Scott Cummings would be lucky if he could locate 2 brain cells to rub together.
Bogan boofhead.
His opinion is worth less than ZERO !
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Scott Cummings is an earlier version of Jason Akermanis (except Akermanis could play).
41 pressure acts and 7 tackles.
Needs to put those goals away though.
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Where did you get this intel from? And can you tell me how many of those pressure acts were in the first vs second halves? Just out of interest. Cheers in advance.
It’s from afl live with telstra premium stats. Can confirm it was 41, but not sure on the timing. Thought zachy played well and worked hard all night
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AFL app.
He’s a class act Merrett.
We would be stuffed without him.
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Spent a lot of the night channeling the ghost of Brent Stanton.
Understandable maybe in the rain of the first half, but continued to just hack the ball forward until late in the game
Learnings to be had hopefully
Nothing wrong with hacking it forward in those conditions.
In fact that’s the exact type of play we don’t usually do in these conditions and it ends up costing us.
Our problem was we couldn’t finish off our forward entry’s with a goal. We had plenty of chances.
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Count how many of those hacks forward went straight to Richmond in the second and third quarters - and only 25 metres forward
■■■■■■ most of them.
Stantonesque.
Zerret is usually much smarter than that - in contrast Richmond’s mids took a fraction more time to assess where they’d aim for, allowing the contest to at least be halved
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I haven’t had a look at the replay yet but at the game I thought he was important.
A lot of people on here are giving Heppell votes and he had 7 turnovers from just 26 possessions and only 2 score involvements.
That goes with just 10 pressure acts and 1 tackle after having no tackles last week.
Some players get held to different standards.
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Midfielder struggles with efficiency when pouring with rain!