McGrath: What Merrett told Bomber teammates over turbulent off-season

Essendon captain Andrew McGrath has no reservations regarding Zach Merrett’s commitment to the club.

The six-time Crichton Medallist and now former skipper attempted to leave The Hangar for Hawthorn in the trade period, but was ultimately unsuccessful in his deadline day pursuit.

A few months on from his attempt to get out it was reported that Merrett is eager to extend his contract with the Dons, which came as a surprise to many.

But where does McGrath sit on the intriguing situation? Is he shocked that Merrett is open to extending his contract?

“Nah, I’m not shocked,” McGrath said on SEN’s Fireball.

“Knowing Zach, what we know about him and my relationship with him, I think he needed to see a couple of changes.

“How it went down was a little bit turbulent and probably not how we all expected.

“But he’s committed, he wants to win and he wants to win in red and black. That’s all we really care about at this point in time.

“We’re so excited to have him as a part of our group. He’s training the house down and he played really well (for Victoria in Origin) the other night. We’re expecting a good year from him.”

After plotting his exit strategy, which was knocked back by the club, Merrett was forced to remain a Bomber.

He had assessed his future and felt that perhaps he’d be better off playing elsewhere if he wanted to achieve the ultimate success.

While McGrath somewhat understands that stance, he hopes Merrett can see the light with the Dons.

“He just explained a few of his concerns around what was happening, where our performance was at, where he was at in terms of his career,” he added.

“I was in an interesting position because I’ll always support Zach as a person, I know his family really well, and we’re very close. But I also had a firm foot in the footy club’s camp around what was best for our club - and that is keeping Zach and keeping him as our best player and a leader.

“He needed to work through a few things. He goes through a process at the end of every year and analyses where he’s at as a person, where his footy club is at, and that’s probably where all the talk came from.

“Internally it was a lot more calm than what was reported. You guys (in the media) do a great job in bringing hype to the game and bringing stories to life. Day 1 of pre-season there were a few awkward handshakes and a few gags, but after that it was all business.”

In conclusion, McGrath feels confident that the club’s best player will give his all to the cause.

“There’s obviously emotion with it. We all felt a degree of uncertainty around what was going to happen,” the new skipper said further.

“Speaking to Zach offline I knew that the club was going to do what was right by the club. We were really candid with Zach around that and that there’d be a high likelihood that he’d be an Essendon footballer in 2026.

“We’re super stoked at how it’s out turned out. It was an interesting couple of months but in terms of where we sit right now - you hope you don’t go through it again - but we’re happy with where everything has landed and how he is fitting in with the footy club.”

As for his own leadership, McGrath believes he is primed for the position after serving as vice-captain for the past three seasons.

“I feel absolutely ready. Being in a leadership position at the footy club for a little while now you develop a thick skin,” the 27-year-old former No.1 pick said.

“You know how to be vulnerable at the right times but also hold up your end of the bargain at times as well.

“In terms of changing I don’t think there’s been too much change. The way I go about things and a lot of the feedback that Zach has given me over the last few months is ‘you’re in this position because of who you are’.”

McGrath touched on a number of other topics including the young Dons impressing this summer, new AFL rules, his expectations for 2026 and more.

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