Essendon should consider stripping Merrett of the captaincy ... if they keep him

It is difficult to fault Zach Merrett’s football performance, his professionalism, his singular devotion to self-improvement and desire for team success.

The query, for some time, has been over his leadership. Does he understand how to lead a group? Merrett knows the words, but can he carry the tune?

His actions suggest tone deafness to the essence of captaincy.

Merrett has flirted with the notion of leaving Essendon in the past. Now, as captain, he has inflamed the club and its supporters by meeting with Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell and his key lieutenant Rob McCartney, who did most of the leg work for Hawthorn’s approach.

The Essendon hierarchy is adamant that Merrett will not be traded, and that position did not change on Wednesday when it emerged, via Nine’s Tom Morris, that Merrett had met with Mitchell and McCartney on Tuesday (this did not surprise the Bombers, either, they were well aware of his wanderlust beforehand).

When clubs say that a star will “not be traded in any circumstances” that is really code for, “unless the deal is highly favourable”.

Carlton’s position on Charlie Curnow is less adamant, but the upshot is the same - only if the deal is exceptional.

In the event of a formal trade request, Hawthorn will offer the earlier first round pick (No.8) they acquired from Carlton. This will not suffice for the Bombers, who will have a huge draft hand anyway.

They must decide how to navigate the Zach attack, weighing up the all-of-club impact of letting Merrett remain or leave.

If they hold to their line and retain Merrett, they must also consider removing the captaincy from him. Merrett, indeed, would be best to voluntarily relinquish the role if he remains at Tullamarine.

It is difficult to hold the leadership position at an organisation that you don’t believe in. Or don’t believe will succeed soon enough. Oscar Allen’s flight from West Coast is altogether different, since the Eagles preferred him to go (and he wasn’t contracted).

In a sense, the Hawthorn meeting has raised the stakes for Essendon because their choice is between trading their best player, or retaining one whose actions are a poor example for younger teammates.

One can only imagine what Sam Durham, Nic Martin, Jai Caldwell and Nate Caddy make of Merrett’s stance. It is worse given that Sam Draper is leaving, and Jordan Ridley has made noises of dissatisfaction.

It places the Bombers and Brad Scott in a bind, only several weeks after Merrett pledged his commitment to Essendon and the coach on Fox Footy.

Jake Stringer was rightly traded for cultural reasons. Now Merrett, too, represents a cultural issue for the club, despite his stellar standards.

Does Merrett get the message his exploration conveys to teammates?

Perhaps, after 12 years of more false dawns than Anzac dawn services, he’s jack of losing and doesn’t give a fig what anyone thinks.

Last weekend offered a revealing counterpoint to Merrett when David Swallow, on his last legs after 15 years of valiant service to the Suns, booted the game-winning point to secure a stirring finals victory for Gold Coast.

When co-captains Tom Lynch and Steven May walked out in 2018, Swallow and Jarrod Witts assumed the captaincy together and began the task of refashioning the least successful club in the AFL.

Saturday night was a victory, above all, for the Suns’ true believers, headed by Swallow and Witts. It also left Essendon as the only club not to have won a final since Gold Coast’s entry in 2011.

Merrett, at this point, clearly favours following the path of May and Lynch, both of whom played in premiership teams for their second clubs.

If any player is entitled to that choice, it’s questionable whether, ultimately, it is as fulfilling as staying the course, accepting the slings and arrows and - just maybe - helping a blighted club return to prosperity before you finish.

Winning finals at Hawthorn, after giving up on Essendon, is hardly a hero’s journey.

Shane Crawford, a perfectionist like Merrett who had numerous opportunities to leave the Hawks, played in a winning grand final in his final game.

Hawthorn had found Jarryd Roughead, Lance Franklin and Jordan Lewis four years earlier, just as the Suns were blessed to gain Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson 12 months after the May-Lynch walkout.

Last summer, Essendon sent Merrett and his vice-captain Andy McGrath to the United States with Scott, in part, to further their understanding of leadership, via meetings with the Los Angeles Rams and others.

Merrett’s frustrations, born of a raging desire to succeed, are completely understandable.

But his response - to look for the exit ramp - are not those of a skipper in stormy seas.

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