While Josh caddy sinks beers at the bar
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Merrett would walk into the Hawks team and be their best player. Could be the difference between winning a premiership or not for them.
Time to pony up Hawks
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But time actually is against them not us since our official position is heās not leaving!
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In simple terms there are only two ways this doesnāt get done.
- HFC are stupid enough to court Zach in this way and run this process publicly without being prepared to put a good to very good offer forward. So minimum 2 firsts or 2 firsts + change
- EFC are stupid enough to reject a good to very good offer for a 30 yo Merrett who desperately and publicly doesnāt want to be there, and isnāt wanted by his teammates (or so it seems).
#1 is almost certainly untrue. HFC have a demonstrated history of being prepared to pay up (see Barrass).
#2 is the big risk. If the boneheads in charge i.e. Welsh and Vozzo arenāt playing 2D chess (itās not even 3D) and are literally playing tic tac toe thinking they just simply canāt afford the reputational damage of accepting this deal, then we are fkd of course.
I still think itās very much on and at least even odds to get done. But Essendon is the risk here. Hawks are not going to blink at offering 2 Firsts and Iād be very surprised if they didnāt up the ante late.
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Thats the line James Hird has trotted out every day.
Anyway. Wheres our Hawks pick package announcement! Can someone in this trade mess actually do something already!
I think a few in here throw around ā1st round picksā like they are automatically valuable. Thats all relative to the actual number on draft night. Having 13 or 22 players be traded before your pick is not a position of strength over 2 years. You have a likely 1 in 4 chance then of nailing those picks. Its why a known talented player or a top 10 is the desirable outcome as it assures you more of a higher % of genuine return to build a better list
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Whatās the alternative?
Of course you have to nail the picks, but getting in first round talent is the best way to continue to build a list.
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Essendon fans donāt think itās unders, we want overs because heās contracted, our captain and raining B&F.
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Not just 1st round round, top end talent. Needs to be in top 10.
Good luck building a side with a bunch of picks around 16-22
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Is it better to keep Merrett who has stated his intention to go through this process again next year? What cost do you put on that behaviour to the morale of the team? The opportunity cost here is obvious and Iād rather chance it with a couple of extra 1st round picks than have his presence undermine the morale in the changing rooms tbh.
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If the hawks could find a way to offer 2 top 10 picks for 2026 (obtain from 2 bottom 10 teams) then we would deal IMO. I donāt see that possible so the trade is not happening.
Hold him for another year and then even if the value is 1 top 10 pick, itās better to have it in 2026 then teens picks and unknowns of future picks that the hawks will offer now
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Thatās where my head is at 9 and a future first is probably equal value (as most neutrals suggest). Given he is a club captain and so highly regarded Essendon want more then that. So the challenge is that hawks want unders, Essendon want overs. And if the hawks want to get it done then they probably have to give overs.
Putting myself in the hawks position I would be comfortable adding a fringe player or upgrading the future first pick in some way. I do think that if they have Merrett then they can contend for the premiership whereas I think Geelong and Brisbane will improve significantly again next year. Hawks are in a spot where they have to in my opinion significantly improve their list within this trade period if they want to contend. Losing 2-3 draft selections for Merrett significantly improves their list in the short term.
Positive side of this is that hawks are worried about the short term (players with immediate ability) and Essendon should be looking at the long term (go to draft). There should be a ground here that makes it work
The further up the draft we get the more greedy we become.
There is still plenty of talent in the first round, and a good + a decent first round pick is still an acceptable return for a 30 yo that has burnt his bridges.
It gives us 3 firsts + 2 firsts (minimum) in a 2-year period. That is the core of a rebuild.
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Watch him play another 6 years at a high level at least. His age doesnāt really mean much to me sorry.
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Itās relative to the players you have available at your pick, not the number that they are picked.
3 players from QLD and a FS doesnāt change the level of talent of the players we have available at pick 9.
Dyson Sharp/Sam Cumming/Aiden Schubert donāt become a worse players because they are picked after NGA players on Draft night.
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Hirdy needs to sell Essendon to Cam MacKenzie.
Be the deal maker.
Or bring in Ben Simmons to help.
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Agree.
Iām still stead fast on making sure we have a big crop of kids coming through together.
Not all of them will make itā¦. But thatās why you need a lot of them.
Iām not really that interested in āwinning tradesā.
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And therein lies the problem
Essendon also want the quick fix
There will be morons at the club that think if we keep Zach and add Fiorini we can play finals next year
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