ESSENDON assistant coach Mark Thompson doesn't believe Essendon will be playing in this year's finals series.
But in the first sign the supplement saga stalemate been the AFL and Essendon could soon be resolved, Thompson said the club was likely to reach an agreement with the AFL by the end of its second day of arduous negotiations over disrepute charges at AFL House.
Thompson, who is one of four Essendon officials charged over the 2012 supplements saga along with the club, said he had no news to report on his negotiations with the League as he left AFL House on Tuesday afternoon.
Asked if he thought the Bombers would be playing finals, Thompson said: "No, I don't."
Asked if he thought the case against Essendon would be resolved on Tuesday evening, Thompson said: "I think it probably will."
http://www.afl.com.au/news/2013-08-27/dons-wont-play-finals-bomber