Essendon is resigned to the fact that it will likely lose key forward Stewart Crameri to the Western Bulldogs in the next 48 hours.
List Manager Adrian Dodoro said that the club was in discussions with the Western Bulldogs ahead of tomorrow’s official end of the AFL Trade Period.
“I think there's a big chance something will happen," Dodoro told SEN on Thursday morning.
"I've got a meeting this morning with Jason McCartney (Bulldogs’ List Manager). I think we're resigned to the fact he'll be leaving our footy club.
"We've given ourselves every chance to get him to try to change his mind, even up until as late as last week, but he's pretty headstrong that he wants to leave and we've got to respect that.
Dodoro revealed senior coach Mark Thompson had tried to convince the 25-year-old to stay at the club.
"As late as last week Bomber (Thompson) was on the phone to him and we pleaded our case but to no avail,” he said.
“I guess it’s a fresh start for him and he has a really good relationship with Brendan McCartney.”
Dodoro also said that a deal between Fremantle and Scott Gumbleton was imminent.
“Fremantle have registered their interest in him and now it is a matter of getting a deal done. We do want to get some sort of compensation for Scott though,” Dodoro said.
“I think his interest is getting back home so we’ll be working on that for him.”
Following the club’s trade with Greater Western Sydney to secure youngsters Shaun Edwards and Kurt Aylett, Dodoro said that the pair was an exciting addition to the club.
“They’re two young players that we regarded really highly when they got picked up by GWS. Like most clubs, we’ve looked at GWS because they have an abundance of young talent,” Dodoro said.
“They’re both good athletes with good height and we were looking to get some speed in to the club.
“With a couple of pre-seasons under their belt, we can’t see why they wouldn’t be playing senior football.”
Dodoro also confirmed that the club remained confident on securing the services of Paul Chapman.
“It’s our intention that Paul will be able to come on to our list on November 1 through as a Delisted Free Agent,” he said.
“It seems like both parties are happy with the deal so we’ll be working towards that.”
