Hawthorn urged to secure Essendon captain to boost premiership chances
There’s no guarantee of impressing Port Adelaide’s Zak Butters as a restricted free agent next year, and Merrett may not be the same quality superstar come the 2025 trade window, when Charlie Curnow, Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver could all switch clubs.
The Hawks improved their defense last year with Tom Barrass and Josh Battle, and did the same on the forward line in 2023 with Jack Gunston, Mabior Chol and Jack Ginnivan (before drafting Nick Watson and Calsher Dear).
Hawthorn strengthened its defense with former West Coast star Tom Barrass during the trade deadline.Credit: AFL Pictures
Next up is Hawthorn’s midfield; They dismantled and rebuilt after shipping out Jaeger O’Meara and Tom Mitchell at the end of 2022, even paying out nearly $750,000 of their contracts to land them.
A month later, the Hawks drafted Cam Mackenzie, Josh Weddle and Henry Hustwaite after taking a top-10 pick on Josh Ward and trapping Jai Newcombe in last year’s midseason draft. Will Day may be Hawthorn’s best player but only once in six years has he played more than 17 games in a season.
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Watching Geelong’s 35-year-old captain Patrick Dangerfield take the grand final away from them must have given Mitchell pause. Experienced champions win grand finals.
Merrett may not be Dangerfield but he is a six-time best and fairest winner at a club where he is the clear standard bearer. He may have just turned 30, but he has barely missed a game throughout his career.
Only Darcy Parish has earned more than Merrett’s average of 29.2 disposals since 2021, while the star Bomber has managed to win more uncontested possessions than anyone else and ranks third in over-50s, second in point assists and fourth for percentage of points from over-50s.
The man is elite and will bring the class that Mitchell sometimes says his team lacks.
Hawthorn is by no means obsolete.
They have a strong core of young talent that could keep them relevant for a long time, but Barrass (30), Gunston (almost 34), James Sicily (31 in January), Jarman Impey (30), Karl Amon (30) and Blake Hardwick (29 in February) are among the top contributors.
Jack Gunston and Sam Mitchell would love to win another premiership together.Credit: AFL Pictures
This in itself should bring some urgency to the negotiations for Merrett.
Any deal would likely include Hawthorn’s ninth pick and a first-round pick in 2026, as well as another future pick or a player appealing to Essendon. This may be Hustwaite, but he is a 10-player player.
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Would this offer be enough for the Bombers to comfortably give up their best player, or would someone like Mitch Lewis or Mackenzie have to come in instead? That may seem like a lot for a 30-year-old player, but the Hawks will likely have to overpay to convince Essendon to make this trade.
What Hawthorn list boss Mark McKenzie and his team need to consider is that they are not just trading for Merrett. They trade on things he can help them achieve.
In the same best and fairest speech, Mitchell made it clear that the Hawks needed to continue improving as they were unhappy with their preliminary final appearance.
“We were created to win the presidency,” he said.
Hawthorn may not need Merrett to take the next step, but they would be undisputed flag favorites for him. The Hawks need to make the Bombers an offer they can’t refuse.
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