ESSENDON has declared "the gloves are off" in the trade space after Sam Mitchell met with Zach Merrett this week, the second time this season it has been revealed the Hawks coach has met with a rival club captain.

The Bombers were left blindsided after reports emerged Mitchell had met with captain Merrett on Tuesday night in a bid to lure him to the Hawks.

Merrett is contracted with Essendon until the end of 2027 and coach Brad Scott declared on Wednesday the club won't trade the 29-year-old "under any circumstances".

Mitchell hit the headlines earlier this year when his secret meeting with West Coast captain Oscar Allen leaked out.

The meeting caused such an uproar among Eagles fans that Allen fronted the media to apologise and detail the shame he felt.

Allen, a restricted free agent, has since informed West Coast of his intention to join Brisbane.

Mitchell lured contracted West Coast premiership defender Tom Barrass to Hawthorn at the end of last year and his early-season meeting with Allen, and current pursuit of Merrett, has raised further eyebrows.

"I know 'Mitch' well having worked with him (at West Coast). It doesn't surprise me," Bombers CEO Craig Vozzo told SEN on Thursday.

"But two club captains this year is an interesting one, one with a two-year contract.

"Yeah, I didn't like that. But anyway, that's life."

The fact the Merrett meeting was Mitchell's second with a club captain in less than a year did not go unnoticed by Scott.

"This is the second club captain that Sam Mitchell has met with in one year. The difference is our club captain is contracted for another two years," Scott said on Fox Footy.

"You've got accept that players are going to do this and coaches are doing this now.

"I think the world is changing. There would be a time and place in which I'd be pretty disappointed, but the reality now is that the gloves are off and all is fair in love and war.

"If that's the path they want to go down, we'll play that game too."

Speaking on Wednesday morning, before news of the Merrett meeting came to light, Mitchell when asked about the club's interest in Merrett.

"I'm not sure - you'd have to talk to the list management guys about that," Mitchell said.

"I hope they are working behind the scenes on improving our list. That's what their job is and I hope they are going about that."