Essendon coach Brad Scott addresses Zach Merrett trade situation as captain meets with Hawthorn

Essendon coach Brad Scott has addressed his captain Zach Merrett’s bombshell meeting with Hawthorn, stating very clearly that the superstar midfielder will not be going anywhere.

“He’s a contracted captain,” Scott said on AFL 360 on Wednesday night.

WACTH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Merrett meets with Hawks amid trade speculation.

“Our club’s position is we will not be trading him under any circumstances.”

News that Merrett has been thinking about Hawthorn as a possible suitor has been circulating for some time, but things exploded on Wednesday when it was revealed that he had met with Hawks coach Sam Mitchell on Tuesday night.

Asked if Merrett — a five-time best-and-fairest winner could still captain the club considering he was thinking about leaving, Scott was strong.

“Of course he can be captain. No one is perfect,” Scott said.

“Will it be a challenge because of this? Of course it will.

“I’ve seen him overcome bigger challenges than this.”

Scott said he loved Merrett and understood his mindset.

“I talk to our supporters, I talk to our members, and at the end of all of those conversations, I say the same same thing to all of our supporters, I say, ‘Stick with us’,” Scott said.

“And almost to a man and woman, they say, ‘through thick and thin, I’m rusted on’. They have been through some really difficult times.

“The real carrot for me to come to Essendon was to see this through.

“It has been a challenge but I understand Zach, I love Zach.

“He is just so desperate for success, he wears his heart on his sleeve.”

Scott admitted that the meeting with Mitchell came as a surprise to him.

“(But) I’m well aware of his position ... he’s as hungry for success as any player I’ve encountered,” he said.

“The reality is, this time last year we re-committed to Zach (with a renegotiated contract).

“We committed to him, he committed to us ... I intend to see my commitment through and I expect our captain to do the same.

“I can’t stress enough that I love this bloke. He’s an incredible player ... his will to win is unbelievable.”

The veteran coach also took a swipe at Mitchell’s recruiting tactics.

Mitchell hit the headlines earlier this year when his secret meeting with West Coast captain Oscar Allen leaked out.

The meeting caused such an uproar among Eagles fans that Allen fronted the media to apologise and to detail the shame he felt.

Allen, a restricted free agent, has since informed West Coast of his intention to join Brisbane.

Mitchell lured contracted West Coast premiership defender Tom Barrass to Hawthorn at the end of last year and his early-season meeting with Allen, and current pursuit of Merrett, has raised further eyebrows.

Scott understands the new landscape of player movement, but hinted if Hawthorn wanted to play dirty then Essendon would do too.

“I think the world’s changing,” Scott said.

“You know, there’d be a time and a place in which I’d be pretty disappointed.

“But the reality is now the gloves are off, and all is fair in love and war, and if that’s the path they want to go down then you know we’ll play at that game too.”

Merrett’s manager Tom Petroro said his client’s motivation to explore a move was simply due to the fact that he was getting older (he’s 29) and was desperate for success before he retired.

- With AAP