The four moments that show why Essendon Bombers coach Brad Scott rates Zach Merrett alongside former Collingwood Magpies champion Nathan Buckley
“What makes him so good? Well, how long have you got?” Scott said. “It’s unfair to make too many comparisons, but this one I think is appropriate.
“He reminds me of Nathan Buckley in his will to win. He’s so driven.
“I had the misfortune of playing against Nathan Buckley then had the fortune of coaching him His drive and his will to win, is close to second-to-none and Merrett reminds me so much of him in that regard.
Zach Merrett was Essendon’s best in their narrow win over North Melbourne.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
“But Merrett, like Nathan, backs that up with work ethic. He works on his craft every day, he is always seeking to get better. Every time he comes into the NEC Hangar, he is like, ‘I am here to get better’ and he expects that of his teammates.”
Brownlow medallist Buckley was the Magpies’ great hope during the late 1990s. Four of his six Copeland Trophy wins came in seasons where his team finished no higher than 11th in a 16-team competition.
After playing a first final in his debut season in the black and white in 1994, Buckley had to wait until he had turned 30 for a second taste of September. Merrett, who turns 30 in October, is yet to win a final from four appearances.
Already at an extremely high standard, arguably just below Nick Daicos and Marcus Bontempelli, Merrett cannot be reasonably expected to do much more himself to get his team there. He undoubtedly knows this, which is why his focus in recent years has shifted towards making teammates better as well.
The lace-out pass
On Thursday night his opening act was to put the ball on the chest of Archie Perkins for the Bombers’ first goal.
The desperate tackle
His effort to bring down North’s veteran recruit Luke Parker, one of this generation’s toughest midfielders, exemplified his commitment to the defensive side of the game.
Upon being spurned by Kako, Merrett did well not to show excessive disappointment and berate his first-season teammate.
“That is the fine line. We’ve worked really hard in that space and Zach has led that. Isaac just didn’t see him,” Scott said. “Isaac is a very unselfish player. If he had seen Zach, he would have kicked it to him.
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“I reckon three, four, five years ago he would have shown a lot more disappointment than he did.”
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