The 34 past and present Essendon players facing anti-doping bans will distance themselves from any further legal manoeuvring by the Bombers, with some now contemplating a deal with ASADA in a bid to accelerate their return to the AFL.
With embattled Essendon chairman Paul Little scheduled to face his rivals at a meeting of the 18 clubs on Monday, Fairfax Media understands lawyers for the 34 players will outline a series of choices and recommend the players move forward, regardless of Essendon's next move.
Little, whose decision to challenge the ASADA investigation into his club's drug program incurred the wrath of the other clubs - several of which were publicly critical - was expected to attend Monday's pre-Brownlow AFL meeting and attract some scrutiny from his peers, who are furious at the ongoing damage Essendon is inflicting upon the game.
Since Friday's Federal Court decision was handed down, it has also emerged:
- Little recently met the discredited sports scientist Stephen Dank, who claimed he did not give the players the banned drug thymosin beta-4
- James Hird's support at board level has decreased further, with a growing push from key directors to retain Mark Thompson as coach;
- Hird no longer enjoys the strong support of club doctor Bruce Reid. Hird's wife Tania accused Reid of letting her husband down before the start of this season and Hird has repeatedly claimed that all the drugs given to his players had been approved by the club's medical staff;
- The cost of paying out Hird has been estimated at $1.25 million after tax offsets, although the club has not ruled out sacking him with no financial settlement should evidence be put forward by ASADA to demonstrate the coach breached his contract;
- Little's power base remains under threat as influential Bombers canvass the position of Simon Madden. At least two directors are due to step down by December, with former Melbourne Storm boss Ron Gauci and ex-player Justin Blumfield playing a key role in external talks;
- Former federal minister Lindsay Tanner could also become a director appointed by the board.
Little is understood to have spoken directly to Dank in a bid to unravel what drugs were administered during the experimental program of late 2011 and 2012. Although Dank has previously stated he gave players the banned form of thymosin, he later changed his story.
The 34 players are now awaiting further evidence from ASADA before contemplating whether to fight the show-cause letters or negotiate the details around a potential six-month ban, with only a handful of missed games.
Those negotiations will move ahead even in the unlikely event Essendon chooses to appeal against Friday's Federal Court decision. Essendon is still funding the players' legal battle, with some of those players now expected to assume different strategies.
While a large group of Essendon players - along with Dr Reid - remain on an end-of-season trip in Hong Kong, the first in a series of talks has been reportedly scheduled as early as Monday, with the AFL Players Association refusing to divulge details of the meeting.
Port Adelaide and the Brisbane Lions - the two clubs leading the chase for Paddy Ryder's signature - have indicated they will pursue Ryder regardless of any doping bans.
AFL chief executive Gillon McLachlan refused to discuss the Essendon issue before Saturday's preliminary final, but told key stakeholders at the pre-match function that despite ongoing challenges surrounding the Bombers, he looked forward to the saga being resolved.
Although McLachlan told Little last month that the players could choose to take voluntary suspensions as an insurance to any future anti-doping bans, that proposal was never put to the players.
The players were offered a deal from ASADA boss Ben McDevitt in June which would have led them to serve a suspension involving four home-and-away games and finals in 2014, returning for round one next season. That deal expired in July and was taken off the table.
