The old adages goes: "The captain goes down with the ship," and ultimate responsibility lies with the captain.
And in an AFL instance, leaders do not leave their football clubs - right?
But in the modern era of football, captains do in fact "jump ship," and almost every time, it leaves the club in rabbles.
On Tuesday night Zach Merrett met with Sam Mitchell and Hawthorn to discuss a potential trade out of Essendon, as reported by Tom Morris of Nine.
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In fact, Merrett is the second captain this year alone to meet with another club, with Oscar Allen’s departure from West Coast for Brisbane being all but confirmed.
But let's look at just how common it truly is for a captain to "jump ship" and where it leaves the captainless club.
Steven May and Tom Lynch - Gold Coast Suns
May and Lynch, the bookend pillars of the Suns' spine and co-captains from 2017 to the end of 2018.
In what is an incredible historic double trade, not one but both of the Suns' co-captains wanted out of Queensland in the same off-season and requested trades to Victoria.
This historic double trade shattered the Suns from within, as they finished with the wooden spoon the very next season and struggled to find an identity for years after.
Chris Judd - West Coast Eagles
Arguably the greatest player in the AFL at the time, Judd was fresh off captaining the Eagles to the 2006 flag, and the world was at his feet.
Yet at the end of the 2007 season, Judd requested a trade to Carlton.
The Eagles not only lost their captain but their best player, and began a freefall down the ladder in 2008.
For the very first time in their history, West Coast finished in the bottom two with only four wins to their name.
Ryan Griffen - Western Bulldogs
With 202 games played, an All-Australian selection, and captaincy of his club, Griffen was flourishing at the Western Bulldogs.
After two years of captaincy, Griffen looked to expand his horizons and joined the expansion club of Greater Western Sydney at the end of the 2014 season.
But in this instance, both sides gained from this trade.
GWS shot up the ladder and finished within the top four the next two following seasons.
While the Bulldogs roared into fifth place in 2015 and then went on to capture their elusive premiership in 2016.