Zach Merrett won last year’s Crichton Medal by 105 votes and he shapes as a strong contender for back-to-back best and fairest awards in 2017.
Merrett was named on the wing in the All Australian team after a year that saw him record the most possessions (659) by an Essendon player ever, beating the mark he set in 2016.
The 21 year old also broke Brent Stanton’s record (447) for the most uncontested possessions in a season. He averaged 20.6 uncontested possessions per game on his way to recording 454 for the season.
The former Sandringham Dragon was ranked number one at the Club for possessions (30 per game), kicks (17.4), tackles (5.6), uncontested possessions (20.6) and metres gained (487.3m).
Merrett played 22 games and recorded more than 30 disposals on 12 occasions.
He was instrumental in the Bombers crucial round 23 win over Fremantle, notching 31 disposals and kicking four goals.
The midfielder also produced dynamic displays against Hawthorn in round one (37 disposals), Geelong in round eight (33 disposals and 12 tackles), Port Adelaide in round 12 (38 disposals, seven tackles, one goal) and St Kilda in round 17 (37 disposals and ten tackles).
