Essendon plans to offer James Kelly and Matt Dea contracts for next season.

Indications are the players are keen to sign on – but what happens from here?

General Manager of Football Operations Rob Kerr outlines the process over the next few weeks.

“The ruling with the players that we picked up as a result of the CAS decision was that those players had to be delisted at the end of the season," he said.

“When list lodgment goes in those players will be delisted and then under the AFL rules you have a delisted free agency period which commences Tuesday November 1.

“At that time we’ll lodge the offer to the players (Kelly and Dea) and every indication is that they’ll accept it.

“Obviously there has been conversations with managers and players and they’re both keen to continue with Essendon which is great news for us.” 

So all going to plan, James Kelly and Matt Dea will officially become Essendon players (again) in early November.

“At the start of the season, given the circumstances, we had a goal within the footy department of trying to find four players who may not have been in our best 22 at the start of the 2016 season, but on the strength of their year with the opportunities they were going to get, would be in our best 22 at the start of 2017,” Kerr said.

“The focus there was around the young players who weren’t established and we’re pretty confident we got close to achieving that. 

“But then to be able to add two older, more experienced players to the group is a bonus.

“It gives us depth and it’s depth we probably wouldn’t have anticipated that we might have had.”