When Essendon and Hawthorn take the field at the MCG on Friday night for Round 1 of the 2026 AFL season, Zach Merrett will confront the team that pursued him with intensity less than six months ago. The former Essendon skipper has gone from being the top of Hawthorn's trade wishlist to being "the enemy" as the clubs prepare to do battle in round one.
The story that defines this fixture is not really about Merrett as an individual player, capable though he is. Rather, it reflects two clubs at different points in their evolution and the genuine complexity that emerges when institutional resolve meets personal ambition.
Merrett, a six-time club best and fairest and Bombers legend, was determined to make his way to the Hawks, with his demand made public before falling short in the final seconds of the cut-off. Merrett's manager, Tom Petroro, made it vehemently clear that the Essendon captain wanted to join Hawthorn, stating "Zach really wants to be a Hawthorn footballer, he's all in on this" and instructing him "to try and get him to Hawthorn this afternoon."
Hawthorn's offer was substantial by any measure. The final offer to the Bombers consisted of picks 10, 22, a 2026 first-round selection, and midfielder Henry Hustwaite. Yet Essendon simply would not move. Hawthorn tabled an offer that included three first-round picks in a package to land Merrett in the final hours, but the Bombers put a high price on trading out their captain and weren't budging in the final throes of the tense negotiations.
From one angle, the Bombers' position makes economic and institutional sense. Essendon's list management team was involved, but more than that: "our president, our board got involved." Coach Brad Scott noted that as of 72 hours before the trade deadline, "there hadn't even been an offer for him." A club holding the line on its best player is not unusual. It is, arguably, prudent list management.
But the trade saga revealed something else: how hard it becomes to move past ambition once it has been named. Merrett stepped down as Bombers skipper after his failed attempt to join Hawthorn last off-season. He is no longer part of the Bombers' leadership group, with midfielders Sam Durham and Jye Caldwell as well as new recruit Brayden Fiorini added to the group. Andrew McGrath took the reins as captain.
What is notable is how both the player and the club have moved toward repair. Scott revealed that he and his former skipper had vowed to maintain regular check-ins after his return to the Hangar, with both discussing the fact "let's never have a void in communication ever again," and noting they "have certainly followed through on that all pre-season." According to McGrath, Merrett has shown he is "fully invested" and "there was no doubt... that if he was in the red and black after everything that happened, he'd be the same Zach, and he's still going to be a brilliant player."
The Hawks, meanwhile, have had to absorb their own disappointment. Mitchell said the Hawks had plenty they needed to focus on beyond Merrett after starting the season with a 27-point loss to Greater Western Sydney, noting "we've got some work to do and our players understand that what we put up last week is not going to get it done." Hawthorn's trade period concluded without the addition of an experienced midfielder, leaving the club to continue its development strategy with the existing list.
Hawthorn great Jason Dunstall noted that "a cordial deal between Essendon and Hawthorn is highly unlikely when you look at the relationships between the two clubs historically." That context matters. Some rivalries carry so much history that negotiation itself becomes difficult.
Friday's clash is ultimately about two things. The first is straightforward football: who controls the midfield, who handles the contest, who finishes stronger. The second is quieter: whether two competitors can face each other with professional respect after a period of genuine turbulence. That second test, in its way, matters more for the clubs involved than the scoreboard ever will.