The Essendon Football Club is proud to announce Zach Merrett has been appointed Captain.

Merrett, who has played 184 games with the Bombers, succeeds Dyson Heppell, who last week announced his decision to step down from the captaincy to focus on his on-field performance.

Merrett is Essendon’s 41^st Captain in its VFL/AFL history.

Talented defender Andrew McGrath has been appointed Vice-Captain.

Hailing from Cobden in Victoria’s south-west, Merrett joined the Bombers in the 2013 NAB AFL National Draft as selection 26. After making his senior debut in round one, 2014, he quickly became a pivotal part of Essendon’s midfield and in recent seasons has cemented his position as one of the competition’s most influential midfielders.

Over his nine seasons with Essendon, the 27-year-old has won three Crichton Medals as Essendon’s Best and Fairest and has earned two All-Australian guernseys.

“It is a huge honour to be selected as the next Captain of Essendon,” Merrett said.

“Some of the finest names in Australian football have been captains of Essendon. From Reynolds to Clarke, Daniher, Hird and Heppell, it’s humbling to join this list of champions of Essendon.

“This is a great club with a great future, and I look forward to playing my role as an on-field and off-field leader. I feel very humble to have been given this opportunity, and I thank Brad Scott, the coaching staff, football department and my team-mates for their confidence.

“This is a privilege which I am very grateful for and am very much looking forward to. There’s great energy around the group. With Andy and I as captains, supported by a group of emerging leaders, we are all united and aligned in our vision to take us back to being a successful football club.

“This is a journey for all Essendon people – we’re bringing everyone along for the ride and we are working really hard to make our members and supporters proud of this team again.

“I also thank Dyson Heppell who is a great mate, and who has led the Bombers with such distinction over six seasons. He has worked hard behind the scenes to get us to where we are today, and I hope we can reward his commitment with some great wins in 2023.”

Merrett served as Vice-Captain last season after holding leadership positions at the club since 2016 and in recent years has captained the Bombers when Dyson Heppell has been unavailable.

Senior Coach Brad Scott said Zach Merrett is the perfect leader to take this young group forward this season.

“Being appointed the captain of an AFL club is a great achievement for an individual player. It’s an enormous endorsement from your playing group and coaching staff, judged over time based on the actions you demonstrate,” Scott said.

“Zach is a highly driven and motivated player who leads by example on and off the field with his relentless pursuit for success. He demonstrates all the values we want in our Captain and his appointment highlights the confidence we have in him to take us forward.

“This is an exciting time for our football club as change presents opportunity. Zach and Andy are outstanding leaders who will progress this football club setting and demanding high standards. We’re equally as excited to identify the next group of players who will create great depth in the leadership at the club. We have a growing group of leaders at Essendon who are driving high performance.”  

Essendon undertook a leadership process under new Senior Coach Brad Scott that provided players the opportunity to identify the key values and qualities they want in their leaders. The squad and football staff then voted on candidates who best demonstrated these values before a recommendation was presented by the football department.

The Essendon Board ratified Merrett’s and McGrath’s appointments.

Merrett and McGrath were standouts in the leadership process.

Heppell’s decision on Friday to stand down as Essendon Captain meant that he was removed from the leadership process. Heppell will continue to support the two leaders through the transition.

Essendon will continue to strengthen its leadership program and identify the next wave of leaders but will not appoint any other official leaders for this season.

Merrett will lead Essendon in its first practice game against Gold Coast SUNS at Metricon Outer Oval this Thursday, February 24.

Zach Merrett

• 184 AFL games
• Selection No.26, 2013 NAB AFL Draft
• Crichton Medal winner: 2016, 2019, 2021
• Crichton Medal runner-Up: 2020, 2022
• All-Australian team: 2017, 2021
• 22under22 team: 2016, 2017, 2018
• John Kilby Best Clubman: 2016
• Lindsay Griffiths Rising Star: 2015
• AFL Rising Star nominee: 2014