Four-plus rivals circle Blue as club weighs options; Merrett fear after Dons meeting — Trade Whispers

Almost a third of the competition has asked Carlton about Mitch McGovern’s services, with the Blues still yet to make a call on his future.

Plus details of a meeting between Zach Merrett and Bombers higher-ups that left the Essendon captain concerned.

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AT LEAST FOUR RIVALS CIRCLE THE BLUE COACH KEEN TO KEEP

While Carlton coach Michael Voss has declared he “absolutely” wants to keep Mitch McGovern at the club, at least four other sides have flagged their interest in trading for the out-of-contract swingman.

McGovern did not have his deal for 2026 triggered after the club chose not to select him, while healthy, for the final games of the season.

It means the soon-to-be 31-year-old with 145 AFL games under his belt, 48 at Adelaide and 97 at Carlton, has an uncertain future.

The Blues have not yet offered McGovern a contract for 2026 and will weigh up whether they want to delist or trade him, reports The Age.

The Western Bulldogs, North Melbourne, Essendon and Brisbane have all inquired about his services.

He has only played a full season once, in his debut 2016 season at the Crows, with only one other season playing more than 18 games - the 2023 campaign when he played 22 times - due to a combination of injuries and form.

MERRETT’S WORRY AFTER DONS MEETING

Essendon captain Zach Merrett was left concerned after a recent meeting with club higher-ups about their future, as he weighs up a bombshell trade request.

Merrett, who is contracted for another two seasons, is desperate for success but has also been incredibly local to the Bombers who have not won a final in his tenure.

The skipper spoke with Essendon list boss Matt Rosa and CEO Craig Vosso accompanied by manager Tom Petroro recently and SEN’s Sam Edmund reports “the answers that came back to him didn’t exactly fill the captain with a great deal of optimism”.

“The big concern is the captain Zach Merrett,” Edmund said on SEN’s Crunch Time.

“Once again, he is restless, and there are some sections of the Essendon Football Club who, to be honest, are tiring of the annual dance that they do with their skipper.

“And if they were to speak honestly, they would probably say it’s time to either put up or shut up.

“But then there is the Merrett camp, who would suggest, ‘Hang on, Zach is thirty next month. He hasn’t played in a winning final in 250 games. He’s the most loyal bloke in the game, and is he going to get any success before Father Time knocks on his door?’

“So, it’s all a bit tense at the moment at Essendon. None more so than in this club (officials and) Merrett two-hour meeting that took place about a fortnight ago about the direction of Essendon and the status of its playing list.

“This involved Matt Rosa, the still relatively new list boss. The chief executive, Craig Vosso and Merrett’s manager, Tom Petroro. Now, in this meeting, Merrett asked a series of questions of the club hierarchy, particularly around its playing list.

“And my understanding is that the answers that came back to him didn’t exactly fill the captain with a great deal of optimism, particularly when the conversation turned to the pending departures of Sam Draper and the lack of replacement options.

“So, the concern is clearly, as they embark on this draft first list strategy and the experienced players depart, this is exposing an underbelly that doesn’t appeal to a player who is 30 years of age and just pines for success.”

The Herald Sun’s Jay Clark declared in his column on Sunday “Hawthorn is the club which wants him and clearly have the capacity to pull it off with a deal which would have to include Carlton’s first-round pick (which they own).

“Over the next two weeks, it will be up to his management to explore whether the deal can be pulled off and whether he in fact wants to give up the captaincy to swap colours.”

The Hawks’ top picks are currently 8 and 26.

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