ZACH Merrett has been "dominating" training at Essendon after his failed attempt to join Hawthorn, with Bombers list boss Matt Rosa saying the star midfielder has been welcomed back by his teammates.
Merrett returned to the club last week for the first time since his failed attempt to join fierce rival Hawthorn in last month’s trade period.
The 30-year-old has not spoken publicly since then, and Rosa said the club was keen to move on from the trade saga now that pre-season training has started.
"It was great to see him running around again," Rosa said on Gettable Draft Countdown on AFL.com.au on Monday.
"He looks really fit and as we expect, he's dominating training and performing really well.
"All the boys were rapt to have him back and it was great to see him in such good nick."
On Saturday, Bombers veteran Andrew McGrath - one of the favourites to take over the captaincy from Merrett - said "everyone met him with open arms" when the midfielder returned to training.
"It was great to see him get around the lads," McGrath said at a McDonalds McHappy Day event.
"A lot has been spoken about it, no doubt, but everything seems worse than it is ... when he walked through the door, everyone met him with open arms.
"He was the same and just got on with training.
"Zach's the calibre of player that can compete in any environment, and we are so lucky to have him. He dominated training, which he does most times."
Merrett is still contracted at the Bombers until the end of 2027 and it is yet to be seen if he will again chase a trade at the end of next season.
As reported by AFL.com.au, the Bombers have been proactive in looking to bring A-grade talent to the club and have put forward a massive offer to Hawthorn young gun Josh Weddle while also preparing a significant deal to put in front of Brisbane premiership star Zac Bailey.
On Monday, Rosa would not be drawn on the specifics of those reports but said the club will be "aggressive" in its chase of mature players from other clubs.
"It's a really important piece of putting a list together, bringing in mature talent," he said.
"We'll always target A-grade talent and then those role specifics, which we feel like we've been able to do with Brayden Fiorini this year.
"We'll look to be aggressive and hopefully we can capitalise on some opportunities.
"Josh is a fantastic player who looks like he's got a really high ceiling, so no doubt there's plenty of interest across the competition for a player like Josh."
