Essendon coach Brad Scott has rejected the portrayed narrative that he and Zach Merrett had a relationship breakdown amid the star’s trade drama last year.
Scott also said the “shackles are off” now for the five-time Crichton medallist, who relinquished the Essendon captaincy in the offseason and prepares to come up against Hawthorn – to which he sought a trade last October in Round 1.
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The Bombers’ coach, defending his relationship with the brilliant midfielder, said on Monday night he didn’t realise the heaviness Merrett felt while carrying the captaincy.
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“It was obviously a difficult period for everyone. People don’t believe you, but the narrative of ‘there must have been some sort of breakdown between the player and coach’ – that never happened,” Scott said on Fox Footy’s AFL 360.
“He and I have always had a good relationship. Zach has, in a lot of ways, carried our club through a really difficult period, and I always understood the burden that leadership carries, particularly when your club is struggling.
“What I probably missed last year is that because he is so good at compartmentalising and focussing on what he needs to, that it was probably weighing on him more than I realised.
“Everything has unfolded the way that we fully expected to – he’s come in and been our best trainer in the pre-season, which is no surprise, and he thrives on these moments in these big games. So, we probably should give him a percentage of the (Bombers-Hawks) gate receipts.”
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The Bombers and Hawks clash at the MCG in a Friday night blockbuster, with verbal barbs certain to come Merrett’s way as Essendon looks to claim a big scalp.
But Scott and the club are leaning into the reignited traditional rivalry, with the fourth-year Dons coach telling media earlier on Monday: “The rivalry’s real, no doubt … does it (the Merrett trade narrative) add spice? Probably.”
And when prompted by AFL 360 co-host Garry Lyon on the Bombers landing a blow back on the Hawks by offering Josh Weddle a mega contract prior to his re-signing, Scott was short and sharp.
“That’s the way things work. When you throw a punch, expect one to come back your way pretty quickly, especially at our club.”
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Asked if Merrett relinquishing the captaincy was agreed upon quickly by player and club, Scott said: “Really quickly.
“It wasn’t even a discussion, because he came straight in and said ‘this is what’s best for me, and it’s what’s best for the club,” Scott said.
“And as I touched on, I probably misread the burden that he was carrying for three years as captain.
“And we’re going to see a Zach Merrett that has had that burden released and the shackles are off for him.
“I said, ‘mate, unashamedly, you need to focus on yourself, and you just focus on being the best player you can be’.
“And we’ve got a lot of developing leaders that are coming through, and it gives us an opportunity now for Andy McGrath to flourish, for our young leaders to step into the void, and we still have Zach there as our on field cultural general.”
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