AFL
2 months ago
How King and Whateley would react to Merrett trade rumours if they were Essendon
By Lachlan Geleit
David King and Gerard Whateley are adamant Essendon cannot let their captain Zach Merrett leave amid an audacious bid from St Kilda for his services.
According to Channel Nine’s Tom Morris, the Saints are attempting to lure the 28-year-old Bombers star to Moorabbin by dangling massive money.
While no formal contract offer has been made by St Kilda, Morris says that the club is preparing a bid, adding that Merrett is frustrated that he hasn’t been able to play consistent finals in red and black.
Although Merrett is contracted until the end of the 2027 season, Morris confirmed that he’s not on more than $1 million a season and doesn’t have triggers in his deal that will see his contract rise alongside collective bargaining agreements. His current deal is also said to be front-ended, meaning he won’t earn his full buck across the next three years.
With all of this in mind, King and Whateley are in agreement that if they were Essendon, they’d move heaven and earth to rectify the issue by getting into negotiations with Merrett over an improved new deal to shut off any chance of him departing the club.
King: “You just couldn't see it, could you? I couldn't see him leaving.
“They'd be scrambling to re-negotiate, Essendon, surely.”
Whateley: “That would be your first line of defence, would just be to give him a new deal, you couldn't spend your money any better.
“They need to go, ‘We've got a problem here, let’s correct this. Come in, we’ll sort this out. Your three-year deal becomes five, the TPP issue, we're going to give you because you're not only our captain, but you're our best player and nothing matters more than this’.
“You couldn't be spending money in a better place inside Essendon than on Zach Merrett.”
King: “If he walks out the door, so too does your standard setter. He is the guy that says, ‘This is how we're training, this is how we’re playing, this is the Essendon wave’.
“This is Brad Scott's greatest asset at Essendon. They can't lose him. Not over simple finance.
“I don't care where you're spending your money and who you're trying to lure in the door - you cannot lose this guy.”
Whateley: “I'd be inclined to correct this today. If you were aware that anywhere in the corners of the football world, there were the rumblings that Zack Merrett was gettable, I would sort this out today with a long-term deal.
“It’d be, ‘How many years do you want to do, five or six? We gave Darcy Parish six. We’ve given top dollar to Ben McKay. Let’s sit down and just sort this out right now.”
King believes that some of this chatter could have come with Merrett on deals that aren’t as favourable as some players who have been recruited and re-signed by Essendon in recent seasons.
He believes that signing free agents like Ben McKay on big money - who aren’t at the level that Merrett is at - can cause more issues down the line in contract negotiations.
“This is the hidden problem of these acquisitions, is the guys that have been doing it the way you want it to have been done for years and have played high-level footy look at their number and go, ‘Hang on, we’re paying what for him? How come I’m on this? I’m the captain’,” King said.
“This is one of the secret sauces to keeping everyone happy. You can't get this wrong.
“If this becomes a greater problem and this discussion keeps going for two to three weeks, it does untold damage, I think.”
