Hird and his legal team will return to AFL House on Tuesday for a second day of negotiations over possible penalties for the club and four officials.
Hird, senior assistant coach Mark Thompson, club doctor Bruce Reid and football manager Danny Corcoran are facing AFL charges relating to conduct unbecoming and bringing the game into disrepute.
Club great Watson, a former teammate of Hird's and the father of Essendon captain Jobe Watson, said on Channel Seven's Talking Footy on Monday night that the seventh-placed Bombers were likely to lose their premiership points and be ruled ineligible to compete in the finals.
But he said Essendon was concerned that losing points, draft picks and receiving a heavy fine, plus fines and suspensions for four key officials, would be excessive.
"My reading of this now is they think it's too harsh in terms of the draft-pick penalties thrown in on top of the individual penalties, on top of the fact they will lose their points," Watson said.
The supplements saga: 26 turbulent months
One of the major barriers to a deal is the Supreme Court writ that Hird issued against the AFL last week.
Watson says he's been amazed by Hird's resilience.
"I have because I thought under the weight of what he's been under at some point he would crumble and buckle."
North Melbourne great Wayne Carey, no stranger to massive media interest on and off the field during his playing days, says Hird's self-belief is the key to his confidence in the public eye.
"It's a real example of where Hirdy thinks, and what he thinks he's done wrong here," Carey told the program.
"And he's prepared to say 'Well, no'.
"If you think you're right, or you've done nothing wrong, it makes it a lot easier to stand there and walk out and front those cameras every day than if you know in the back of your mind you may have done something wrong.
"In his own mind he believes he has done very little wrong."
Essendon remains under an Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority investigation, with the AFL laying its charges after receiving an interim ASADA report.
One of the major barriers to a deal is the Supreme Court writ that Hird issued against the AFL last week.
Watson says he's been amazed by Hird's resilience.
"I have because I thought under the weight of what he's been under at some point he would crumble and buckle."
North Melbourne great Wayne Carey, no stranger to massive media interest on and off the field during his playing days, says Hird's self-belief is the key to his confidence in the public eye.
"It's a real example of where Hirdy thinks, and what he thinks he's done wrong here," Carey told the program.
"And he's prepared to say 'Well, no'.
"If you think you're right, or you've done nothing wrong, it makes it a lot easier to stand there and walk out and front those cameras every day than if you know in the back of your mind you may have done something wrong.
"In his own mind he believes he has done very little wrong."
Essendon remains under an Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority investigation, with the AFL laying its charges after receiving an interim ASADA report.
