Monday, 28 November 2011
Staff writers for essendonfc.com.au
Page 1 of 1

Everything fell into place quickly for Jackson Merrett last week.

On Sunday, Merrett was invited by Essendon to meet at the club's Windy Hill headquarters. It made the Bombers the last of 12 clubs to interview the teenager from Cobden, a small town in Victoria's south.

 Four days later he became an Essendon player when the Bombers selected the 18-year-old with pick 31 in Thursday's 2011 NAB AFL Draft.

"That was the first time I'd spoken to them so there was a little bit of late interest, but it was definitely worth the trip down to Windy Hill for the interview," Merrett told essendonfc.com.au.

"But now I'm just looking forward to meeting everyone, enjoying it all and working hard.

"It will be good to learn from great people who are there to help me get the most out of myself."

At 187cm, Merrett is a nicely sized player who is an excellent kick, has poise and can see how the game's unfolding and where he needs to go to find the ball. In 2011, he finished second in the Falcons' best and fairest and represented Vic Country in the NAB AFL Under-18 Championships.

He views himself as an outside midfielder – he weighs only 70kgs – but played some of his best football of 2011 in roles as a ball-winner rather than receiver. Adding to his height and mobility, he has speed. He ran 2.93 seconds for the 20 metre sprint at the NAB AFL Draft Combine, and thinks he can go even faster. 

"I've got a bit of pace but I probably don’t use it enough out on the field so if I can try develop that into my game a bit more it can really take my footy to another level," Merrett said.

After the draft, Essendon's list manager Adrian Dodoro compared Merrett to a young Blake Caracella, someone who found space and was a reliable goalkicker. Merrett was only seven years old when Caracella played in Essendon's 2000 premiership team, but agrees that having an appetite for a goal is a big part of his game.

"I played a little bit up forward this year and kicked a few goals, so I definitely don't mind snagging a couple," said Merrett, who will be rooming with Bomber teammate Heath Hocking in the early stages of his time at the club.

Merrett's football bloodlines are strong.

His great uncle was Collingwood champion Thorold Merrett, who played in two premierships for the Magpies in the 1950s and was named on the wing in the club's team of the century.

Jackson's grandmother is cousins with twins Alastair and Stewart Lord, who played for Geelong in the 1960s, and his father Greg is a second cousin of Essendon dual premiership player Roger Merrett.

But, despite knowing he has a long way to go before reaching the heights of his football relatives, Merrett will be approaching his AFL opportunity with a focus on the basics.

He has already had hundreds of text messages of congratulations and friend requests on Facebook since being selected, but is more intent on gaining the respect of his teammates and coaches at Essendon than anything else. 

"I'm going to go down there and build my body up and work as hard as I can until I get a game, whether that's soon or down the track," he said.

"When I get down there to meet the guys hopefully I'll be able to fit in with them and we can build a strong team in years to come."

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