Essendon captain Zach Merrett has opened up on his leadership journey at the club, admitting he “didn’t quit fit in” with the rest of the club’s leaders only a few years ago.

Merrett was a shock omission from Essendon’s leadership group in 2020, before returning the following year and becoming the club’s captain at the start of 2023.

Click PLAY to hear Zach Merrett’s extended chat on 3AW

“There was areas I needed to improve on and grow (in 2020 when I was axed from the leadership group),” Merrett told Sam McClure and Matthew Lloyd on Wide World of Sports.

“There was an element of the environment potentially at that time, I probably didn’t quite fit in to the (leadership) group at that stage.”

Image: Dylan Burns/AFL Photos