Essendon's decision to force Zach Merrett to honour his contract instead of trading him to Hawthorn at the end of last year has mixed reviews, but the club is steadfast they are content with the decision.
Merrett attempted to cross to the arch rivals for three first-round picks, which the Bombers vehemently denied in October.
The Tullamarine club already had a strong draft hand, and used it on snaring Sullivan Robey (Pick 9), Jacob Farrow (Pick 10) and Dyson Sharp (Pick 13).
So, in their minds, they wanted to keep experience, and Merrett, despite handing over the captaincy to Andrew McGrath, was a required piece of the Bombers' rebuild.
"Yeah, I am not unhappy with the decision made then,” Essendon football boss Daniel McPherson said on ABC.
"Zach has been a terrific contributor for us, he continues to play at an incredibly high level and his contribution has been outstanding. His ability to influence the team in meetings, the standard he sets. We have an incredibly young list and we need some of that experience and elite talent to lead the group through."
However, 12 months down the track, Merrett is poised to seek a move once again, albeit still under contract - one that expires at the end of next year.
The Hawks are tipped to land the star midfielder, but have multiple leads in terms of rival players, including Gold Coast duo Bailey Humphrey and Ben King.
"We would have a good discussion again, whether it ended up in the same spot or not, there is a lot of water to go under the bridge," McPherson said.
"Those discussions will happen down the track if that's what he wants to do again. But he's contracted for next year so any of those discussions will happen towards the back end of next year."
Bombers defender Jordan Ridley is understood to be wanting to seek a move to Queensland at season's end.
McPherson also weighed in on the club's coaching search.
Essendon recently named a five-person selection panel who will determine the next coach of the club after the sacking of Brad Scott last month.
Former Bombers players James Hird and Dean Solomon are deemed to be leading the race, playing into the narrative the club is only keen on an Essendon person, which McPherson rejects.
"No, I think it just needs to be the best coach for this group," he said.
"The ‘Essendon person' narrative is severely overplayed and we just need the best coach for this playing group and this club.
"I think we need someone that is going to build strong relationships with the players, develop them. The demographic of the team is quite young but we have also got high end talent so we need to develop this group well, we need to build connection amongst the group and get going in the right direction.
"There are a lot of decisions made over the last couple of years that have laid a good foundation. We will get some more talent in at the end of this season and it's a really strong platform to launch from here.”
