“You have to bring every person along with you. That is what football coaching is about.”
On Wednesday, it was revealed that the club captain Zach Merrett held a face-to-face meeting with Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell.
On Wednesday, it was revealed Zach Merrett has met with Sam Mitchell.Credit: AFL Photos
Martin’s passionate support of the coach contrasted with his initial response when he heard the news Merrett had met with Hawthorn.
The brutally honest midfielder said he was coming to terms with what had happened and was confident the Bombers could salvage the situation.
“My first reaction was hurt from it, and I was disappointed and a little bit angry about it but then again Zach is my teammate, so I think I have got a job to try to understand his perspective and what he is going through, but I was bitterly hurt from it,” Martin said.
“We are going to have to build the bridge again.”
The news about Merrett was quickly followed up by confirmation that the Brisbane Lions had met with injury-riddled defender Jordan Ridley who has become frustrated at repeat soft tissue injuries despite his diligent rehabilitation.
“My first reaction was hurt from it, and I was disappointed and a little bit angry about it but then again Zach is my teammate, so I think I have got a job to try to understand his perspective … but I was bitterly hurt from it. We are going to have to build the bridge again.”
Nic Martin on the Zach Merrett news
“I have a duty of care and my priority is to make sure all the other boys have confidence in what we are building and what we are growing and making sure they don’t feel hurt or left out of the loop either,” Martin said.
Martin, who is in the club’s leadership group, said he had not spoken to Merrett yet but knew Mason Redman, Kyle Langford and Andy McGrath felt the same way about the coach and the path the club is on.
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“When we faced adversity early this year I found he has such a good balance between having a hard edge and that warrior that you want to play for him and being optimistic,” Martin said.
“He helped me remain optimistic. You lose a few games in a row [and] you can start to drop your hands but the way he relays messages you remain optimistic and think we can win this game, or we can get out of this.”
Martin, who is seven weeks into his recovery from an ACL injury, said it was critical everyone was on the same page on day one of pre-season.
“I am doing everything in my power to make sure I am part of the next Essendon premiership,” Martin said.
“My job as a leader is to make sure Isaac Kako, Nate Caddy, Angus Clarke, Archie Roberts, these types are there as well have lost no confidence in what we are building. I am going to do everything in my power to make sure I am there for the next premiership.”
Martin’s strong position comes after Scott and club CEO Craig Vozzo made it clear they would not trade either Merrett or Ridley despite the defender’s meeting with the reigning premiers.
The Ridley camp organised that meeting, which the Bombers are aware of, and followed him playing only 19 games across the past two seasons because of persistent hamstring issues.
The 2020 club champion is contracted until the end of 2029 after inking a three-year extension last year.
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Ridley, 26, addressed his frustration with his injury management during his end-of-season exit meeting, and has held frank discussions with Scott and Vozzo.
He also met with the Bombers’ new high-performance boss, Mathew Inness, who replaced Sean Murphy after a horror injury run this year. Essendon hired David Regan, too, this week as their senior strength and conditioning coach.
Ridley’s sister lives in Queensland, while his parents spend a lot of time there and his partner also has strong links to the Sunshine State.
Brisbane’s medical staff have a track record of rehabilitating injury-prone recruits, including Grant Birchall, Joe Daniher and Linc McCarthy. However, ex-Adelaide backman Tom Doedee and former Cat Nakia Cockatoo did not have the same success.
Meanwhile, ruckman Sam Draper, who told Essendon on Tuesday he would exercise his unrestricted free agency rights to join a new club, is yet to tell Brisbane or Adelaide where he wants to play. It is widely assumed Draper will choose the Lions.
Sam Draper is an unrestricted free agent and will leave Essendon. Credit: AFL Photos
Vozzo said the decision whether Merrett could remain as captain would be something to address in the cool light of day as he doubled down on the club’s refusal to trade him with two years remaining on his deal.
“Can he remain captain? It’s a really complex one. It’s one now you need to deal with in a calm way, you can’t deal with it today,” Vozzo said on SEN on Thursday.
“Today, the emotions are really, really high. My emotions are high, don’t get me wrong. If I was making an emotional decision today, I’d say ‘no way Zach can be the captain of the club’.
“But it doesn’t work like that, you have to take the emotion out of it, understanding the honour and the privilege.”
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