Essendon captain Zach Merrett believes that his side’s output to this point of the 2023 season hasn’t even scratched the surface of the level they can reach.
The Bombers have already shown they can hold their own against the competition’s best, and Merrett is inviting the opportunities head-on.
Ahead of his 200th game, Merrett told SEN Breakfast that the groundwork laid in pre-season has set the precedent for the Dons to get back to enjoying the process of developing their young team.
“I think the 17 games (this season) have absolutely flown by, it feels like when you’re improving and really enjoying the environment that the time seems to go by really quickly,” Merrett said.
“Each week provides an ability to evolve our game plan, but the fact we’re still winning games has also been an enjoyable moment. It’s just snowballed from that day one of pre-season back in November.”
The Bombers are bringing a more rigorous team structure to the table this season, but not at the expense of sacrificing their individual instinct and flair.
It’s this blend that has Merrett most excited by the potential of the group going forward.
“We’ve still got a pretty clear system in the way we want to play as a group, but I think there’s more of an openness and sense of freedom for guys to play with their natural flair while also being really clear with what’s expected of them and the standards to uphold,” Merrett said.
“We still don’t really feel we’ve pieced a lot of our puzzle together yet, so to be siting fifth is a huge bit of excitement. We feel like we’re still so far off where we think we can get to, so every day is an exciting opportunity at the moment.”
Reflecting on his quick journey to 200 games in the red and black, Merrett admits the early days of his career went by in a flash, but the next challenge is always at the forefront of his mind.
With that immediate challenge coming in the form of the reigning premier Geelong at GMHBA Stadium on Saturday night, Merrett is excited to crack in.
“It’s a bit of a blur looking back (at my first games), it was all fast and extremely daunting looking around the ground seeing a lot of guys I idolised growing up,” Merrett said.
“(It’s a) bit of a humbling moment to be up to 200 so quickly, but I’m pretty excited to get down to Geelong and get stuck into them.”
