Essendon blocks Hawthorn’s first trade offer for midfielder Zach Merrett, reigniting a trade dispute between the two clubs.

Multiple outlets report that the negotiation tension mirrors what played out during last year’s trade period, when the clubs repeatedly collided over Merrett’s potential move. The reports describe the current situation as a restart of that earlier standoff, with Essendon withholding agreement on Hawthorn’s initial proposal.

While the coverage is consistent on the core development—the rejection of the first offer and the renewed “trade war”—it does not detail additional terms such as the value of the bid, timing for further talks, or whether subsequent offers are immediately expected. The accounts therefore focus mainly on the fact of the blocked first offer and the continuation of a broader, ongoing trade narrative between Essendon and Hawthorn.