Essendon coach Brad Scott appeared on AFL 360 tonight to address the media reports surrounding captain Zach Merrett and his future at the Bombers.

Scott reinforced the Club's public position, stating unequivocally that Merrett is our contracted Captain and will not be traded under any circumstance, while also providing a clear, candid message to the Essendon faithful about the club's list build and its pathway to on-field success.

Brad on… Merrett

I speak to Zach daily, who was over at my house a couple of days ago having dinner, so I'm well aware of Zach's position.

He talked about our young talent, and he's very excited about the young talent on our list, and has got full confidence in them. But he's as hungry for success as any player that I've ever encountered and he's a man in a rush. He's 29 years old, he's concerned 'will our young talent mature enough in time for him to enjoy that success'.

But the reality is that this time last year, we recommitted to Zach. We felt he was underpaid for someone who was performing at such a high level. So, for the second time in three years, we changed his remuneration to reflect his brilliant performance and his terrific leadership. So, we committed to him and he committed to us. And like our CEO, who moved interstate, committed to the club, I came and made a commitment to the club. I intend to see my commitment through, and I expect our captain to do the same.

This is the second club captain Sam Mitchell has met with in one year. The difference is our club captain is contracted for another two years. So, I think you've got to accept that the players are going to do this, and now coaches are doing it. But I think that the reality is that Zach's a process driven guy. He's got a checklist. He'll go through his process, and he likes to come to his own conclusion.

So, in a way, this is Zach just doing his due diligence. But now it feels like we've done our due diligence two out of the last three years, and we have a really clear vision. It's been a really challenging year for a number of reasons, but we've all made a commitment. And the thing about a commitment is that the reward at the end of it is not guaranteed

But the thing I've learned about success is that it's fantastic when you get it, but it's the journey and the effort and the blood, sweat and tears that you put into the process to get the success. That's the reward, not the outcome.

It's not the premiership medal or the winning finals. It's the work that you put in with other people, the commitment you make to people. That's the reward. The outcome is just reward for the effort.

This is his vision as well. He's invested in our club, and he's been kept right up to speed with the vision and it's been a challenging year. We started the year at six and four. We had even challenges at that stage. But then the injury crisis has been well documented throughout the year.

But, I can't stress enough that I love this bloke and I think he's an incredible player.

I've rarely seen anyone like him, and our own playing group almost make fun of me for constantly referring to Zach and his on field deeds, and his will to win is unbelievable. And if he does have a chink in his armour, it's that will to win and that desperation for success. He sometimes wears his heart on his sleeve, and he shows that frustration. But if that's the biggest chink that he's got, it's not the worst one.

He’s our contracted captain. Our club's position is that we will not be trading him under any circumstances.

It's about our club. I feel like I talk to our supporters, I talk to our members, and at the end of all of those conversations, I say the same thing to all of our supporters. I say, stick with us, and almost to a man or woman, they say, through thick and thin, I'm rusted on.

They've been through some really difficult times. It has been a challenge. But again, I understand Zach. I love Zach, and he's just so desperate for success that you know, he wears his heart on his sleeve, and he goes through these moments, but our club's position is he's our captain. He's contracted for two years. We've adjusted his contract to reflect his performance, and we expect him to see it through.

Brad on… Zach Merrett’s Captaincy

Of course he can be captain, because the thing is no one's perfect.

There are a lot of players that I think are geniuses, but there are a lot of flawed geniuses too. No one's perfect. And, I don't think anyone's captaincy is perfect or anyone's coaching ability is perfect. It's a learning process.

And so, of course he can be captain. Will it be a challenge, based on this situation? Absolutely, it will be. But I've seen him overcome bigger challenges than this.

Brad on… Zach Merrett’s contract

He made a commitment. Players and a lot of agents are running at the moment with the strategy of just signing long term contracts and if you want to move, we'll move you. Well, that's not the world I live in.

The world I live in is you make a commitment and you see it through.

I know it's probably not a great analogy, because your family's your family, but your players, they feel like your surrogate family. And in a way, I treat them like I treat my kids, and my kids make mistakes all the time. I'm still their father, and I'm still his coach, and my job is to lead the club and to have Zach by my side helping us through this difficult time is really important.

My relationship with Zach is very good, and he's spoken publicly to that. So regardless of what happens, that will never change.

Brad on… Sam Draper

Draper, I think, is a completely different situation.

For a start, he's an uncontracted free agent who, over the last 10 years, has had an ACL, a PCL, chronic groin, hip problems, now, a ruptured Achilles. He’s never played more than 16 games in any single season (barring one). I don't think we can begrudge him for being mentally and physically exhausted and feeling like he needs, in his words, a fresh start.

So the fact that he's waited until September to make a decision that he was so torn to make talks to that it wasn't easy. He was, as I said, mentally and physically exhausted and in a difficult spot, and he's made a decision that the competition now supports in terms of free agency.

 Brad on… Jordan Ridley

‘Rids' was one of the players I was excited to coach when I came to Essendon. Unfortunately, I haven't had the opportunity to do that.

Not only has he not played, he hasn't trained. We have made significant changes to our high performance team. The appointment of Mat Inness is a coup for us, as someone that we hold in extremely high regard. I would expect someone of Jordan Ridley's talent and capability to be frustrated with the last couple of years. But again, we went back, felt he was under remunerated for the level of capability and talent that he has, and we contracted him for another four years.

So we made the commitment to him, and he'll be seeing out his four years with us.

Brad on… list strategy

The strategy always changes and evolves. There's always a plan but it changes based on acquisitions, players who go, players who inform all of those things.

But I think I have a bias to build and to want to build, and our position in the draft this year reflects that. We've got, at this stage, four picks inside 25. So our position is that we're already, one of the youngest and most inexperienced lists in the competition, which, again, speaks to Zach. He loves the talent, but is it going to get there quickly enough for him? And I think that's a valid question for him, but the simple answer is, our strategy hasn't changed that much. It's evolved a little bit, but clearly we need to keep investing in elite talent, and the easiest way to bring in elite talent, is through the draft, and that's what we're targeting.

Brad on… challenge ahead

I was under no illusion as to the challenge that this job presented, and I've never been more up for it. And if you look at this year, it’s been really difficult with injuries. But the silver lining to the injuries has been the exposure of young players that are going to be very good players for Essendon for a long period of time.

So yes, it'll be a challenge for us, but we started the year six and four. I've got enormous faith in the players on our list, and we'll keep investing and building it. And as I said at the start, the thing about success is it's the effort you put into it, and that reward for effort that gives you the satisfaction, not just the outcome.

Brad on.. a message to fans

I think the reasons for Zach going through this process is that he's so hungry for success, and his question is, will this elite young talent mature in time for him to be part of it? But leading is difficult, coaching is difficult, being a captain and accepting that responsibility is difficult.

But the thing that I've observed at Essendon and our club's been through some really difficult times. They keep turning up. They're frustrated, bordering on angry, but they stick with us. And I think other clubs are jealous of Essendon supporters, because what they've been through, other clubs might capitulate.

Our club will still be here in another 150 years, and they'll stick with us, and they'll see through the vision, and we'll go through some short-term difficulties, but it'll make it all worthwhile in the end.