He’s right
Imagine if you were Mackenzie right now… why da Fark would he want to go from the Hawks to us?
Thanks Josh.
Agreed.
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Game time and money I guess
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Because Zach Merrett is coming in and taking your spot. But additional bench spot means he can’t get subbed out anymore if named, a win for Cam, and the inevitable Will Day injuries will come
It would have to be pick 9, (another top 10), future second and hustwaite. I would be stoked with that.
Does McKenzie know that the Dons have a shitload of money to spend.
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I mentioned this yesterday. TBF, why would you want to leave the Hawks for Essendon right now?
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I reckon he will.
If that’s what’s it going to take to get Merret over the line they will do it they are not going to lose Merret over a player that most likely wont get games next year
Why would we accept a deal now anyway. This was always going to be a last 5 minute of the trade period trade
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Meanwhile Zach’s partner is probably getting abused by unhinged Essendon supporters.
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But also when Zach wasn’t there you still couldn’t break into the midfield with Worpel and Nash getting picked ahead of you!!
yep, Worpel gone does help him, forgot he left,
Facing a doomsday scenario, it seems the Bombers have stemmed the bleeding
Essendon’s 2026 may feature a moping Zach Merrett after being stripped of the captaincy, but when you consider where the Bombers were weeks ago, it’s better than doomsday.
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Jon RalphAnalysis
As the clock ticks towards Wednesday’s trade deadline, the master of the AFL shootout is desperately searching for a nil-all draw.
Brad Scott is in the unfamiliar position of desperately playing defence as he tries to shore up his list and retain his captain.
The 2025 version anyway, with Essendon more than happy to keep Zach Merrett even if he is stripped of the captaincy and mopes his way through the summer after being held against his will.
If you think that scenario is unedifying for player, coach, club and fanbase, consider the doomsday scenario that seemed entirely likely only weeks ago.
The skipper Merrett gone to arch rival Hawthorn, the 2020 Crichton Medallist Jordan Ridley traded to Brisbane, the stars in Kyle Langford and Darcy Parish having a look around themselves.
And a boardroom takeover attempt that might have seen months of painful headlines across summer as Essendon tore itself apart on and off the field.
No one at Essendon is popping the champagne corks yet given another miserable season that sees Merrett likely staying only because he has a contract.
But Essendon’s hard line stance has put the club in a position where there are only two outcomes on Merrett by Wednesday night’s deadline.
He stays, or Hawthorn finally stumps up such a spectacular assortment of picks and players at the death that the Dons can sell it as a win to their fanbase.
Ridley is staying, Parish and Langford never ended up seriously considering trades, and the Dons will at least pitch a potential exodus as one delisting (Jayden Laverde) and a free agency departure (Sam Draper) that they orchestrated given their modest offer.
President David Barham’s well-timed decision to sniff the breeze and escalate the timeline of his handover to Andrew Welsh has gone down well with the punters.
At the very least it gives Welsh a honeymoon period that calms the ex-player cohort.
And at best galvanises and unites the entire club behind a former Don who represented the win-at-all-costs ethos of a happier time then the entrepreneurial spirit to become a self-made millionaire in business and property development.
So in an off-season where the only addition might end up being Gold Coast wingman Brayden Fiorini it has been about stemming the bleeding instead of any net positives.
But at least Scott buys himself and his club a stay of execution for the 2026 season.
No club has ever needed to put that time to better use than Essendon.
No tipster will feature Essendon in its top eight predictions next year.
But another year like the 2025 version would be a recipe for disaster that would see Merrett definitely departing next off-season along with a long list of teammates and put coach Brad Scott’s feet to the flame.
Essendon’s punt is that Merrett is such a competitive animal that he will give everything to the cause and if traded next year could be moved to a club actually prepared to give up quality players in return.
So Essendon will go to the draft with five early picks this year aware it must desperately search for more A grade players before it can begin topping up with free agents and established talent.
They cannot all come from future drafts.
Essendon will hope to build a premiership side around Nate Caddy and Isaac Kako but Scott must show his teaching and development side to extract performances from currently listed players by the end of next year.
He would say that he never had a chance this year and that the recruitment of Mathew Inness and David Regan as an elite fitness-strength combo gives Essendon a competitive advantage instead of a level playing field.
Yet Carlton blamed the fitness guy last year and then a season on realised its issues ran much deeper – game plan, skill acquisition, culture.
Essendon must be in a position next year to believe its huge core of mid-20s players are good enough that it can get into the race for a Zac Bailey or Ben King type to show Merrett it is worth sticking around.
How does Scott build a defensive system that maximises Ben McKay’s output so he isn’t the fumbling, indecisive version he was before injury in 2025?
What does Scott do over summer to personally invest in top 10 pick Elijah Tsatas so he believes he can be part of the solution to the huge gap left by Nic Martin’s absence from a July ACL tear?
Jade Gresham enters the last year of a $700,000-a-season contract that seems to have only minimised Archie Perkins’ role, having again failed to finish top 10 in the Crichton Medal.
Scott pushing Gresham (and Perkins) to play a more selfless, tackle-first aggressive game would be a message to his entire list as much as a fanbase wanting more from their $2.1 man.
Archie Roberts is a player on the rise, likely 2026 captain Andy McGrath looked good as a late-season mid, Mason Redman stood tall as a more accountable defender, Jye Caldwell will hit back hard from injury.
There are potential A graders – Kyle Langford kicked 94 goals in 2023-24, Redman was in the All Australian squad in 2023, hard nut Caldwell was averaging 7.5 clearances and 7.5 tackles in his last month before injury this year.
But Essendon just delisted Laverde and is aware that of its starting defence Zach Reid, McKay and Ridley managed only 10 games each given injury.
Draper’s absence not only reduces ruck depth, it robs the club of an extrovert and cultural driver.
If Merrett does stay and is stripped of the captaincy, expect him to take care of his own business as a consultant at least for the short term.
With Todd Goldstein also gone, could Peter Wright emerge as a more mobile running ruckman?
The other options are the exciting but very raw Dante Visentini (two games, 25 hit-outs), Nick Bryan (23 games in six years and rebounding from an April ACL), and WAFL graduate Lachie Blakiston (23 hit-outs in 11 games playing centre half back).
In a year where 280-game coaching veteran Scott will pass 300 total games coached the focus will be on his coaching, development and strategy like never before.
Save for a curve ball Merrett stays at the Hangar this year.
If he remains a one-club player past next year’s trade deadline Essendon will be on the way to becoming the club David Barham and Scott envisaged when they started this journey in late 2022.
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We don’t want your garbage in CJ and Husswaite. They’re both basically worthless. So the deal is 9, F1 and F2.
Add MacKenzie and it’s a deal. Until then, Mrs Mitchell will be missing the piece for her ménage à trois
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Tigers have been kissed on the ■■■■ the past 2 drafts.
No offence, lust, but who the ■■■■ is Cam Luke and who the ■■■■ cares what he thinks?
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The doomsday scenario is all of them staying Jon you simpleton
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