ANTHONY McDonald-Tipungwuti will be back at Essendon in 2023.
The star small forward has committed to returning to the Bombers six months after he announced his shock retirement from the AFL.
It comes before Thursday's list lodgement deadline for players to either retire or nominate for this year's draft.
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Only a short time after he quit the Bombers, McDonald-Tipungwuti made the club aware he was reconsidering the move and had interest in returning.
He met with Fremantle, who had interest in adding him to their forward line, but was also keen on going back to the Bombers under coach Brad Scott, and he has signed on for next year.
In recent weeks, the 29-year-old has been going through a training phase ahead of the start of Essendon's pre-season. The club last week said it was having "positive and productive discussions" with McDonald-Tipungwuti about a return.
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McDonald-Tipungwuti hasn't played at AFL level since late in 2021, before he was omitted by the Bombers ahead of their finals series.
He had a challenging off-season ahead of the 2022 campaign and spent time away from the Bombers for personal leave, before returning and playing several VFL games before calling it quits.
But his personal circumstances changed after his retirement and the fan favourite, who started his career as a 22-year-old out of the VFL, is keen to resume at AFL level.
The Bombers missed his brilliant skills and goal sense in the forward line this year, with McDonald-Tipungwuti booting 34 goals from 20 games in 2021 and kicking 153 goals from 126 games across his career.
