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ESSENDON is clinging to the hope it could retain prized draft picks as part of a deal that will see it stood down from the finals on Monday.
The supplements drama will come to a dramatic resolution when Essendon bows out of finals consideration, with James Hird almost certain to have coached his last game of the year.
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Hird was Sunday night considering abandoning Supreme Court action and submitting to a 12-month ban demanded by the AFL ahead of a return in 2015.
It is expected senior assistant coach Mark Thompson will escape with a fine of $20,000.
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Veteran club doctor Bruce Reid is understood to be preparing to stand down as early as Monday. He was adamant he would not be part of a compromise deal.
Essendon will be forced to accept a fine of up to $2 million. The fourth individual charged, football manager Danny Corcoran, will be stood down for three months.
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The AFL's lawyers, Minter Ellison, and Essendon's QC, Jack Rush, were locked in discussions on Sunday. Hird's legal team was not directly involved.
The AFL Commission will meet at 8am Monday and while many facts are agreed between the two parties, it might take all day to reach a resolution.
The Bombers were lobbying the AFL to keep their draft picks or lose just the first two picks at this year's national draft in November.
They argue it would penalise the players and hurt the club for a decade, but the league has pushed for a two-year exclusion from the first two rounds of the draft.
Hird's lawyer Julian Burnside SC labelled the AFL's actions "scandalous" and accused them of bullying Hird.
But the Bombers have effectively conceded defeat. Now the club is trying to limit the damage to its reputation and future success.
An insight into what the AFL might deem acceptable was contained in a draft "accepted facts" document provided to Essendon.
It stated:
THE club failed to adequately protect the health, welfare and safety of the players.
THERE was an unacceptable risk that players may have been administered substances that were prohibited by the AFL Anti-Doping Code and the World Anti-Doping Code.
THE club is unable to determine whether players were administered substances prohibited by the AFL Anti-Doping Code and the World Anti-Doping Code.
Essendon has refused to sign an agreement that says officials deliberately set out to breach anti-doping rules.
Hird will either accept a 12-month ban or Essendon will stand him down for next season while he continues to fight his legal battle.
But that second option looks less likely, with legal figures saying many points in his Supreme Court writ would be undermined by Essendon's guilty plea.
On Saturday night Hird issued two contradictory statements - that he wanted his punishment wrapped up in the club's sanctions, but that he wanted to clear his name first.
"First of all I want to prove I'm innocent of a lot or 99 per cent of those charges," he said.
"I look at those charges and they make me sick that they're out there and that people would believe that is the truth about me.
"I'm determined to clear that up. Then we'll go from there about suspension or not suspension."
Bombers captain Jobe Watson on Sunday continued to express support for Hird but said the fate of his coach was beyond the club's control.
"I mean, it's not whether or not we want him to coach - it's the decision of the Commission and that's the reason there is a Commission," Watson said.
Reid is determined to protect his reputation as a medical practitioner. He has told confidantes he will continue his fight separate to Essendon.
Essendon chairman Paul Little spoke on Saturday night of a middle ground, which meant that the AFL was prepared to drop the focus on drug cheating and instead hit the Dons with governance charges.
While the sanctions are unprecedented, attention will quickly turn to who fills the coaching void.
Thompson would be available given he will only be fined but has made it known he is not interested in a senior coaching position.
Former Bombers stars Mark Harvey and Neale Daniher have been linked to the club but a one-year secondment would not appeal if Hird was definitely returning.
Hird's barrister Burnside said "the AFL's bullying tactics seem to be the standard in Australia now".
"The AFL seems to think it's OK to bully a bunch of individuals and a club without letting them have a fair hearing. I think the AFL's conduct has been scandalous."
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