COBDEN footballer Jackson Merrett is not among 34 former and current Essendon players provisionally suspended for taking performance-enhancing supplements.
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Bombers selectors yesterday named Merrett, 22, in the squad to take on St Kilda in an AFL pre-season match at Morwell tomorrow.
By selecting him they confirmed he has not received an infraction notice from ASADA, which has investigated the club over its 2012 supplements program.
Teammates Nick O’Brien, Elliott Kavanagh and Lauchlan Dalgleish — who like Merrett were at the club in 2012 — will also make the trip to Gippsland.
Essendon had agreed that 25 players who were there in 2012 would sit out the pre-season matches to protect the anonymity of teammates charged by ASADA.
Fairfax Media believes 17 of the 34 players charged remain at the club.
But the Bombers backflipped yesterday, revealing the four had approached the leadership group and coaching panel about playing, and had received the green light.
In a statement on the club’s website, general manager of football operations Rob Kerr said the Bombers and AFL Players’ Association supported their wishes.
“Both the coaches and the leadership group agreed that it was appropriate for the four players to be available for selection throughout the NAB Challenge, and the AFLPA was also comfortable with this decision,” he said.
“As a club, we had to weigh up the interests of all our players, and the leadership group made it clear they didn’t want to deny these four players the opportunity to play senior football at this stage in their careers.
“The 2012-listed players who are provisionally suspended understand the reasons for their selection and feel their anonymity remains protected.”
Essendon selected Merrett with pick 31 in the 2011 draft. He has played 28 matches, including 14 last season, and has kicked 11 goals.
He last month told Bomber TV he had missed part of the pre-season with hamstring tightness but had otherwise enjoyed a productive summer.
“Obviously this year the running has been ramped up a lot compared to the first three years I’ve been there,” he said.
“I’ve really enjoyed it. It’s been a challenge but I’m sure it’s going to ramp up more over the next few weeks.”
Merrett said he wanted to play “as many games as possible” in 2015. He had set himself a couple of goals during the pre-season to make that happen.
“That was to improve my 2km time trial (and) gain a little bit of weight to handle myself a bit more around the ball.
“Hopefully that can help with the year ahead,” he said.
Koroit footballer Martin Gleeson, selected by Essendon in the 2012 national draft, will also line up against St Kilda.
The squad contains 13 top-up players, either from the Bombers’ VFL ranks or who have been recently delisted from AFL clubs.