Had we been told that the Essendon Football Club would have Zach Merrett traded to Hawthorn, and Jordan Ridley to Geelong by lunchtime on Wednesday, the natural assumption would be that these deals must have been struck in a flurry on the final day of the trading period.
These trades of two of Essendon’s premier players were duly consummated on Wednesday. Except that it was a week and several hours before the deadline, not on October 14 following days of bluffs and threats between the rivals.
These trades were made by a different version of Essendon.
Historically, this was not how the Bombers did business with competitors. They played hardball at the trade table and while there were some occasional wins in October, their methods and choices did not see any victories in the preceding month over 20 years.
Culture is an overused word in the AFL, but the completion of those trades, with minimal haggling and ambit claiming, was a measure of an Essendon attempt at cultural change.
President Andrew Welsh had said that the Dons wouldn’t be pushed around any more during last year’s trade period, when Merrett and Ridley were stranded after the club refused to grant them their wish.
What changed?
A few things. The Bombers had a disastrous 2026 season, approaching the worst in their history on the measure of on-field results, resulting in Brad Scott’s removal. They saw that while Merrett remained their best player, his presence did not move the needle much on the scoreboard.
One can argue that Merrett’s retention against his will – and the ongoing speculation about his commitment (it was clear that he would have another crack at getting to Hawthorn) – was detrimental to morale and a distraction.
Ridley’s stranding was much less discussed, in part because his major issue has been availability. The defender, who won Essendon’s Crichton Medal in 2020 and would invariably improve their porous backline whenever he took the field, played just 26 out of 69 games over the past three seasons.
The Bombers, thus, were losing two players – one of whom had caused ructions and instability by his failed escape and the other whose injury record made jettisoning him more palatable.
The return for Ridley of Geelong’s first-rounder in 2027 and 2028 second-rounder, plus Jack Bowes (not necessarily thrown in as steak knives – the Dons need seasoned bodies) is not as enticing as it looks on paper, given that the 2027 draft will be the Devils’ own and pick 15 might be closer to pick 30 in effect once Tasmania’s concessions are factored.
But the gains for Essendon by granting Merrett and Ridley divorces outweigh the losses.
In 2025, Melbourne let Christian Petracca and Clayton Oliver leave, and stunned everyone – themselves too – in their subsequent rise under new coach Steven King.
Mark McVeigh and Essendon cannot replicate the Melbourne revival – they simply don’t have enough mature talent to vault the ladder – but the underlying cultural setting, of becoming a club that wants only players who want to be there, is an ambition now backed up by actions.
Did John Longmire’s arrival play a role in Essendon’s sudden willingness to a) trade contracted quality players who wanted out, and b) to do the deals a week or more before the deadline, without striving for an extra pick swap?
It is natural for us to think that Longmire – a sizeable coup for Welsh’s regime – has already imprinted a new “Horse” trading style, but the game plan – to trade Merrett and Ridley, given a decent deal – was on the agenda before Longmire’s hiring.
By completing the deals early, the Bombers have the option of doing further dealings during the trade period, and flexibility. They can trade up or down, given the suite of picks (Hawthorn’s 15 and 25 included) acquired.
The Dons are among the clubs interested in Nick Blakey, who is exploring a move from the Swans after the Pullman fallout. Geelong, unsurprisingly, are at the front of the queue. If they can’t satisfy the Swans (assuming Blakey leaves), Essendon can make a meaningful pitch. Longmire and McVeigh can pick up the phone to Blakey, as ex-Swan coaches, easily enough.
The cultural impact of reaching deals, without brinksmanship, long before deadline, also applies to the perception of the Bombers in the marketplace. There is a benefit in being viewed as a reasonable club that doesn’t seek to “win” deals, especially when you become the vendor bringing in a good player.
Commendably, Hawthorn and Geelong did not muck around in dealings with the Dons either or waste time better spent on other moves – such as Geelong’s tilt at Blakey.
For many Essendon fans, the fact that the Hawks did not win the 2026 premiership will justify their call in leashing Merrett. In retrospect, they did not gain anything else from their stance (which this column backed).
Essendon’s cultural shift is matched by the turnover of the playing list since 2023, when they have made 36 list changes. Today, there are just six players remaining from their 2020 list – Andy McGrath, Darcy Parish, Kyle Langford, Harrison Jones, Mason Redman and Nick Bryan.
The loss of Merrett and Ridley will ensure that Essendon field close to the youngest teams each week in 2027. They will be light on in bodies and experience. Season 2027 will not see the great red and black awakening.
Jake Niall is a Walkley award-winning sports journalist and chief AFL writer for The Age.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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