Merrett equals Bombers record with seventh medal win
Roger Vaughan |
Zach Merrett’s seventh Essendon best and fairest award win is expected to be his last honour at the Bombers.
The former captain joined fellow Essendon greats Dick Reynolds and Bill Hutchison as the only seven-time winners of the AFL club’s Crichton Medal at Thursday night’s club awards function.
Trade period starts next Monday and Hawthorn will again try to recruit Merrett, a year after Essendon stood firm following the stunning revelation that he wanted to join their bitter rivals in his quest to win a premiership.
The 30-year-old polled 117 votes, while Sam Durham was runner-up on 106 and Archie Roberts third with 77.
Merrett did not address his playing future when he accepted the award. It would be a major surprise if he is not at Hawthorn next year.
“To see my name on an honour roll, the same number of times as those guys, is a real ‘pinch-me’ moment,” Merrett said of Reynolds and Hutchison.
Reynolds’ daugher Suzie and Hutchison’s son Ray joined Merrett on stage to mark the moment of Bombers history.
Merrett has won five of Essendon’s last seven best and fairest awards. He also took out the player-voted McCracken Medal for the fourth-straight season.
The awards night came three days after Essendon announced a massive off-field recruiting coup, landing Sydney premiership coach John Longmire as their head of performance.
New Bombers coach Mark McVeigh, who worked with Longmire at the Swans, officially welcomed Longmire in his speech at the awards dinner.
“John’s a bloody winner,” McVeigh said.
President Andrew Welsh also thanked sacked coach Brad Scott and his interim replacement Dean Solomon.
Essendon finished bottom with the worst win-loss in club history (2-21). Welsh said while it was a tough season, there were signs of life.
“I’m not disappointed with the year we had in terms of the growth we’ve had within our playing group,” he said..
“You’ve seen these young men grow throughout the year and it’s something we can genuinely build on.
“We are not a club that is simply here to exist, on or off the field.
“We’re here to be relevant, we’re here to compete and ultimately we’re here to win, week after week.
Welsh and McVeigh warned that unpopular decisions were ahead as the Bombers try to return to the top of the ladder.
“Building a club the right way in the modern era takes hard decisions … look at Brisbane and Freo,” Welsh said.
“They did it the hard way, they went through lean years, they built patiently, they stuck together and now they’ve been rewarded with sustained success.
“There’s no gaming the system … there are no shortcuts, we’re doing it the right way.”
AAP