{"id":57454,"date":"2021-04-13T07:14:26","date_gmt":"2021-04-13T07:14:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=57454"},"modified":"2021-04-13T10:58:08","modified_gmt":"2021-04-13T10:58:08","slug":"new-suitor-emerges-in-merrett-sweepstakes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/?p=57454","title":{"rendered":"New suitor emerges in Merrett sweepstakes"},"content":{"rendered":"

Port Adelaide has entered the running for out of contract Essendon vice-captain Zach Merrett<\/a>, according to The Age.<\/p>\n

Merrett is a restricted free-agent and is yet to commit to Essendon beyond this year, looming as the biggest name to hit the market this summer.<\/p>\n

<\/strong>MORE: <\/strong>Merrett reaffirms commitment to Essendon after trade frenzy<\/a><\/p>\n

According to veteran AFL reporter Jake Niall<\/a>, the Power have "registered an interest" in Merrett, joining the likes of Carlton, Melbourne and Collingwood.<\/p>\n

Despite being one of the best teams in the AFL, Port Adelaide's list composition of young guns and veterans means that the club is armed with significant salary cap space.<\/p>\n

Veteran forward Robbie Gray is out of contract at the end of the year, with the big-money deals of Steven Motlop, Tom Rockliff and Hamish Hartlett also expiring, giving the Power the means to add a big name star to its burgeoning midfield group.<\/p>\n

\"Zach<\/p>\n

After being dropped from Essendon's leadership group for the 2020 season, Merrett was installed back in as skipper Dyson Heppell's deputy, and led the side in Heppell's absence in Rounds Two and Three.<\/p>\n

The 25-year-old has enjoyed a sensational start to the 2021 season, averaging a career-best 30 disposals per game through Essendon's first four matches.<\/p>\n

While Merrett is understood to be happy at Essendon, he has put off contract negotiations with the club until later on in the season.<\/p>\n

Whether it is at Essendon or at a rival club, the left-footer is expected to attract a salary of around $900,000 per season on his next contract.<\/p>\n

Port Adelaide great Kane Cornes has previously lauded Merrett for his form to start the year.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

"He looks a Brownlow Medallist and I'm not sure he's getting credit for the start to the season he's had. Absolutely career-best, All Australian form," Cornes told Nine's Footy Classified.<\/em><\/p>\n

"He suits the modern game, he's got good speed, breaks from stoppage, such a good ball user."<\/p>\n

"His value's going up by the week the way footy's played. His running ability, his ball use is awesome," St Kilda great Leigh Montagna added on Fox Footy.<\/p>\n

"If I was a list manager, I'd be looking at giving him $900,000 a year for the next five years. He's durable, he's a beauty and the way the game's played suits Zach Merrett down to the ground."<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/em>For a daily dose of the best of the breaking news and exclusive content from Wide World of Sports, subscribe to our newsletter by clicking here!<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Port Adelaide has entered the running for out of contract Essendon vice-captain Zach Merrett, according to The Age. Merrett is a restricted free-agent and is […]<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57454"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=57454"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57454\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":57456,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/57454\/revisions\/57456"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=57454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=57454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sportinfo.pro\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=57454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}