Is it conceivable that Essendon captain Zach Merrett might not attend the club's Crichton Medal evening on October 2nd? Which will likely yield his sixth award?
That's what Channel 9's Tom Morris is reporting.
Merrett has long served the Bombers since he was drafted in 2013, but recently, amid a tumultuous time at The Hangar, he is exploring his options elsewhere.
Earlier this week, it was revealed that Hawthorn met with the Essendon captain, while the Western Bulldogs and Collingwood also survey the situation.
Morris, who spoke on SEN, said the saga could turn into a "really ugly war" between the Bombers and Merrett, with all signs pointing to the latter joining a rival.
"Make no mistake, this is the Christian Petracca situation on steroids," Morris said.
"Petracca last year was desperate to get out; he was talking to everyone behind the scenes. I think Merrett is very much willing to go a step further.
"Which is eventually speak publicly, maybe. Not go to the best and fairest. And really make it impossible for Essendon to do anything else but look at a trade, if the deal is right.
"This is only going one way, I reckon.
"Essendon can say whatever they want at the moment, and obviously, they can hold him if they want to. But the way this is tracking, I think it's more likely he's not there.
"I don't know exactly when he's going to talk or even if he's entirely settled on talking. I just know if you're going to fully blow this thing up, even more than he's doing at the moment, speaking publicly and voicing your desire to get out is necessary."
Fellow leader Mason Redman also spoke out.
"From my point of view, the initial thought is disappointment. Irrespective of the injury issues we've had this year, which derailed our on-field progress, I feel like off-field we were really making some inroads into making the club a great place to be around," Redman told AFL.com.au on Thursday.
"It's [a feeling of] disappointment that our captain, who is supposed to be leading us through this, is exploring other options."
