ESSENDON chairman Lindsay Tanner has praised the club for avoiding in-fighting during its challenging 2016 season, saying the Bombers had passed their character test "with flying colours".

The club claimed its first wooden spoon since 1933 this year after winning just three games, following the season-long bans to 12 of its players for anti-doping breaches.

Speaking at the club's best and fairest night on Wednesday, Tanner admitted the effects of the past four years would linger with the club "for some time".

But he said the way the Bombers had approached the season, and managed to come out of the year with many positives, had shown their ability to wade through the darkest period in the club's history and come out the other side.

"That progress has only been possible because of the amazing resolve, discipline and focus of the entire Essendon Football Club community. We haven't turned on each other," Tanner said.

"We haven't been distracted by the temptation to publicly re-fight the CAS decision, outrageous though it may have been. We've turned up to support our team, and still recorded attendance levels and membership among the highest in the competition.

"We've accepted some tough belt-tightening decisions that have affected everyone from members to volunteers to directors.

"And at no point have we dropped our heads or asked for quarter. 2016 has been an enormous character test for Essendon Football Club, and we have passed that test with flying colours."

Essendon has managed to retain nine of its banned players, including Michael Hurley, Cale Hooker and Dyson Heppell, with defender Michael Hibberd the only Bomber set to leave the club to a rival.

Midfield star Jobe Watson and defender Tayte Pears are yet to confirm their plans for 2017.

Tanner said the Bombers couldn't rest on their gains – and the returning banned players – to lift them straight back up the ladder.

"Our comeback is only just getting started. And we have many more challenges to meet than just those arising from the CAS decision," he said.

"As the process of healing and recovery continues, we must pursue improvement across all areas of activity, on-field and off-field, and not become prisoners of the challenges."

Essendon hasn't won a final since 2004, with Richmond the only other club not to win a final in that period (discounting new clubs Greater Western Sydney and Gold Coast).

Tanner, who took over Essendon's leading role officially at the end of last year, said being one of Victoria's 'big clubs' did not guarantee success for the Bombers.  

"I've had some Bomber fans say to me that the pain of the supplements issue will just make our next premiership that much sweeter. I must confess that for a while I thought like that too," Tanner said.

"Then it hit me: how many supporters of other clubs are talking about 'our next premiership'? Certainly not supporters from clubs with much longer premiership droughts than ours.

"The harsh reality is that if our mindset is about 'our next premiership' there won't be one. We're not in a twelve-team competition any more, as one of a handful of big, powerful clubs.

"We're one of five Melbourne clubs – the others are Carlton, Collingwood, Melbourne and Richmond – who by 2000 had won almost two thirds of AFL-VFL premierships between them, and in the fifteen years since have managed only one. And none of those five clubs will play finals in 2016."