ESSENDON players have been boosted by the fact they will know their fate ahead of round one after the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal set a date for its ruling on the club's supplements program.
Up to 18 Bombers serving provisional suspensions will learn if they face longer bans when anti-doping chairman David Jones announces his findings on March 31.
Midfielder David Zaharakis, who returned in the NAB Challenge on Friday night and is not provisionally suspended, said the news had brought relief to those players with uncertain futures.
"That's what we wanted, we wanted an end point," Zaharakis said on Saturday.
"It's 17 days from now and it's a good thing the guys know there's a date there for it to end.
"The wait has been the main thing on guys' minds, just the never-ending wait of when it was going to happen.
"Now there's two weeks to prepare for what's going to come."
Zaharakis made his return from a two-week knee injury in the NAB Challenge on Friday night, easing into action in a 45-point loss to Greater Western Sydney at Spotless Stadium.
After the Bombers initially declared all 2012-listed players would sit out the NAB Challenge to protect the anonymity of players provisionally suspended, five eligible players have since played pre-season games.
The Bombers facing bans have done everything possible to gain match fitness, but Zaharakis said it was hard to replicate proper game time.
"[In training] you protect your players a little bit and we manage our loads, you want to compete hard but your not going to hurt your teammate," he said.
"In a NAB Cup game it's a lot different ... It's uncontrolled but you want to play a game.
"We've had a massive focus on demanding players train the way they're going to play and trying to build that intensity around the ball.
"They've got limited opportunities to prepare themselves for round one, so they have to train really hard when they have the opportunity."
Essendon hosted its annual family day at its Tullamarine base on Saturday drawing a big crowd as the team flew back into Melbourne.
Coach James Hird, returning great Kevin Sheedy and chairman Paul Little all addressed the crowd and thanked them for their support as the club's supplements saga enters a third year.
