There is a point in any negotiation when resolve begins to look like stubbornness. When holding firm ceases to be a demonstration of strength and instead becomes an exercise in proving that strength exists.
Essendon are approaching that point with Zach Merrett.
The former skipper wants to leave (again). Hawthorn want him (again). Essendon know it. Everyone in football knows it.
So what, exactly, are the Bombers still fighting for?
President Andrew Welsh has again talked tough, warning Hawthorn not to “fumble” negotiations, not to get “too cute” and declaring that Essendon “won’t be crumbling”.
He reminded Hawthorn that Merrett is Essendon’s best player. That he is contracted. That last year’s attempt to prise him out of Tullamarine failed.
All true.
But none of it changes the most important fact in this entire saga: Merrett wants out.
At some point the Bombers need to stop trying to win the negotiation and start trying to win again.
There is a difference.
The Bombers have spent too much of the past two decades fighting battles that ultimately haven’t taken them anywhere. They have changed coaches, chief executives, presidents, football bosses and strategies. They have defended their people, sacked their people, promised patience and demanded standards.
Still, the drought goes on. But now they have a choice.
They can spend another trade period arguing over precisely what a 31-year-old Merrett is worth, extracting every last drop from Hawthorn and telling the football world they will not be pushed around.
Or they can make the deal, take the picks and move forward.
Hawthorn’s opening offer this year, of picks 15 and 25 and a future third-round selection, was rejected. Fine. It was an opening bid. Essendon are entitled to ask for more and Hawthorn should expect to pay a premium for a contracted champion.
But this cannot become another exercise in institutional pride.
Merrett has given Essendon more than enough.
He has won seven Crichton medals. He has carried the club through some of the bleakest years in its history. He stayed when leaving would have been understandable. He performed while administrations changed around him and September success remained perpetually on the horizon.
Now, at 31, he wants the opportunity to chase something Essendon have been unable to give him: a premiership.
Holding him to his contract might be Essendon’s right. That doesn’t make it right for Essendon.
And there is an irony here that should not be lost on anyone.
More than two decades ago, Essendon and Hawthorn played the famous “Line in the Sand” game.
Perhaps it is time for the Bombers to draw another one.
Not with Hawthorn – for themselves.
Draw a line underneath the Merrett era. Draw a line underneath the idea that refusing to trade a player somehow proves you are a powerful football club. Draw a line underneath the obsession with winning the argument.
Strong clubs don’t need to constantly tell everyone they’re strong.
They make hard decisions and live with them.
Welsh says Hawthorn underestimated Essendon and “where we are going”.
Good – then go there.
If Essendon genuinely believe in their direction, the departure of one 31-year-old midfielder – even one as decorated and important as Merrett – cannot be allowed to derail it.
Take the best deal available. Turn those selections into players who can be part of Essendon’s next serious premiership push. Give the next generation ownership of the football club, and let Merrett go.
That doesn’t mean giving Hawthorn whatever they want. It doesn’t mean rolling over. And it certainly doesn’t mean accepting an inadequate deal simply to make the problem disappear.
Negotiate hard, but get a deal done. Because there is a difference between driving a hard bargain and holding a player hostage to make a point.
Essendon need to decide what matters more: proving to Hawthorn that they cannot be bullied, or building the football club that Welsh insists is coming.
The Bombers don’t need another victory at the trade table. They need victories on the football field.
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Sam McClure is an award-winning AFL journalist and broadcaster.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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