AFL 2025 Silly Season

[Booney]

So what would be an acceptable deal next year then?

31yo with only 1 year remaining on his contract will get 1 first rounder tops for him.
We now get to sit through this circus again for the next 12 months with a split playing group
Bottom 4 again, Zach will leave and wouldn’t be surprised if our younger blokes start looking at options too.
What a fantastic 12 months ahead

That's the glass half empty I was drinking from.

Go get some sushi to cheer yourself up, watch out for your boots

Happy clapper.

#sushithursday

[Brodlach]

Hawthorn needed to make an offer too good to refuse

This

Needed to add a good player, not Hustwaite.

[Brodlach]

Disappointed we didn’t secure Ah Chee however glad we didn’t pay overs

Port could do the funniest thing in the PSD however they’ll want to save their dollars for Butters

[whufc]

Essendon aren't competing for a premiership any time soon, the list has holes galore and there's lots of work to do to get it into the top 8, the top 4, let alone challenging for the flag. They have a 30 year old who wants out, who simply doesn't want to be there and in turn another club have offered them 3 picks inside 25 across two years + a player and they've turned that down as a matter of principle because the new President wants to draw a line in the sand?

They are a joke of a club, aren't they?

I guess time will tell and history will be the judge.

Maybe it will be a turning point and players who sign for Essendon in future years will respect the contract signed. Maybe it has the reverse affect and goes pear shaped.

Will obviously be an interesting watch early doors 2026. Probably start to get a feel by the type of pre-season he puts in.

[Brodlach]

Merritt looks like a professional sort of bloke, confident he will put in 100%

[wenchbarwer]

I doubt Merrett would be that unprofessional to rock up fat and go through the motions in preseason, can't see how that would help him one bit if he wants to explore a trade again in 2026. Would be a one way ticket to playing in the VFL

[Brodlach]

I doubt Merrett would be that unprofessional to rock up fat and go through the motions in preseason, can't see how that would help him one bit if he wants to explore a trade again in 2026. Would be a one way ticket to playing in the VFL

He could get as fat as me and he’d still be your best player

[whufc]

Merritt looks like a professional sort of bloke, confident he will put in 100%

Which if the case is a massive win for Essendon.

What price / value do you put on a professional Merritt spending another 12 months with the playing group guiding them, performing well allowing the others to play more suitable roles.

Really simple math but if Merritt is getting it 30 times a game, compared to his young replacement getting it ten times a game and lets use the half forwards as an example what price / value is there on them getting 20 extra opportunities a game to working on leading patterns / contests etc

The rest of the playing group will be in two minds about this, obviously they know they will be a better side with Merritt in it so will be grateful his still there but, on the flip, side know at some point they maybe the ones looking for a trade. I'm going to guess though that the younger ones in the playing group are going to be more the ecstatic's side his there whilst maybe those older blokes will be the ones slightly disgruntled.

Like others have mentioned if he is that set on a trade and wanting to play finals footy well, he better have a decent year or be willing to take a massive pay hit because no finals bound club will touch him. He isnt going to get big $$$ from a finals club if his spent half of next season in the VFL.

[Booney]

It's not a win. Essendon will miss the finals again and he will want out again and they either hold him for another year and get nothing or get less than what they were offered this year.

Here there are no wins.

[Brodlach]

In the end do not sign long term contracts if there is a chance you may want to leave. He knew the situation at the Bombers.


Personally think that both and clubs should not be able to break contracts, you signed them you keep them.

[wenchbarwer]

It's not a win. Essendon will miss the finals again and he will want out again and they either hold him for another year and get nothing or get less than what they were offered this year.

Here there are no wins.

That's right Neville.

Sam Mitchell has had a crap off season, had a swing at 3 players and missed them all, loses depth with Worpel and Jiath, and Day has the kind of injury that ends careers.

Which makes not wanting to part with a 2027 first rounder very bloody strange indeed...

Anyhoo, suck shit Hawks!

[wenchbarwer]

In the end do not sign long term contracts if there is a chance you may want to lose. He knew the situation at the Bombers.


Personally think that both and clubs should not be able to break contracts, you signed them you keep them.

Exactly, he knew what he was signing up for, managed to have a sook and get it bumped up again, now wants to cry foul?

If a player wants to break a contract, the club should have the option of trading them, regardless if they want to move or not. Can't have it both ways.

[whufc]

It's not a win. Essendon will miss the finals again and he will want out again and they either hold him for another year and get nothing or get less than what they were offered this year.

Here there are no wins.

You are completely failing to acknowledge a player whether it Merritt or any other can bring long lasting benefits to a playing group.

If footballers were robots with no emotions, no ability to educate, no ability to mentor then you would be 100% right but that's not the case.

12 months of a professional Merritt who lifts training standards, who holds high nutritional standards, who acts off field in a great manor has benefits to a young playing group much greater than whether they get pick 11 or pick 27 or whatever tangible measurement you can use.

Will they get that......who knows that's the risk Essendon are taking and that's what will be the interesting watch.

But you can't say him being their for 12 months brings no wins. If he spends the year as a true professional that in its own right is a massive learning piece for a young playing group.

[Booney]

You are completely failing to acknowledge a player whether it Merritt or any other can bring long lasting benefits to a playing group.

You, on the other hand, are only looking at the positive.

[whufc]

You are completely failing to acknowledge a player whether it Merritt or any other can bring long lasting benefits to a playing group.

You, on the other hand, are only looking at the positive.

I literally said it all depends on the Merritt that shows up.
"Will they get that......who knows that's the risk Essendon are taking and that's what will be the interesting watch"

100% it could turn real sour if he turns up 15kg overweight, shows no interest in training, doesn't engage with team-mates and ends up in the VFL. At that point it is a disaster for Essendon.

Essendon will know him better than anyone and must think there is a level of professionalism there.

Without knowing my gut feel is what benefit does Merritt get from a dummy spit, ending up in the VFL or refusing to play. Given he wants to get to a club playing finals and have one crack at a premiership.

I'm sitting on the fence in regards to whether Essendon have made the right call or not. Like i mentioned history will be the judge of that. Just amuses me astute football people cant acknowledge that there is more than just the tangible draft pick swapping, or the old we bad we need all young players type attitude.

[wenchbarwer]

You are completely failing to acknowledge a player whether it Merritt or any other can bring long lasting benefits to a playing group.

You, on the other hand, are only looking at the positive.

And you're hanging out with Jim too much

[Jim05]

You are completely failing to acknowledge a player whether it Merritt or any other can bring long lasting benefits to a playing group.

You, on the other hand, are only looking at the positive.

Correct.
He already has lost the trust of his teammates. He has called out the coaching and his teammates as being garbage and already put himself offside with some of the group. We are going to have a very young group and they don’t need distraction for the next 12 months. The media love an Essendon story so all year it will turn into a circus.
Mitchell has already reached out to him and said they will remain in contact all year so his heart and mind are already elsewhere.
What’s worse is that the board overruled the list management team so there is another split forming already

[whufc]

Lost the trust

What does that mean in modern day football though? The game is too professional now if they don’t give the ball to him when they really should have it’ll come out on the Monday. Review if they don’t Shepherd when they should have that’ll come out if they’re not putting in the effort, they should that’ll come up on their GPS trackers They give behind the year training. That’ll be all over TV.

They’re not gonna be allowed to bully him haha

What was all the drama about the internal affairs at Brisbane the year before. They managed to get on with things pretty well

[The Bedge]

Despite how this has played out, you'd hope that all parties could act in a professional manner and push forward. It's in each parties best interest to make sure they get the most out of 2026.

Always amazes me how tribal AFL clubs / fans can get - whereas you can have NRL where guys move during the season or sign at new clubs for the next year during the season and no one bats an eyelid, it's just accepted that it's a profession and these things occur.

[wenchbarwer]

Despite how this has played out, you'd hope that all parties could act in a professional manner and push forward. It's in each parties best interest to make sure they get the most out of 2026.

Absolutely, it's all a business these days.

Always amazes me how tribal AFL clubs / fans can get - whereas you can have NRL where guys move during the season or sign at new clubs for the next year during the season and no one bats an eyelid, it's just accepted that it's a profession and these things occur.

Absolutely, you get the situations with Phil Davis and Jack Ginston after saying they want to leave, yet Jerome Luai played all last year with the Panthers despite knowing he'd be at the Tigers in 2025, he practically had a farewell tour all year.