Essendon coach Brad Scott has commented on the futures of a trio of unsigned Bombers, one of which being off-contract livewire Jake Stringer.
The former Bulldog is yet to extend his tenure at Tullamarine beyond this year, with both parties seemingly seeing out the season before making a call on what the future holds.
Stringer's 2024 campaign started with a spark, with the 30-year-old kicking 23 goals in his first 11 games for the year - a spell that included at least one goal in every game.
The threatening forward's following run of form underwent fluctuations but has since included hauls of five and four goals, the latter coming on Sunday in Essendon's one-point upset win over Fremantle.
The future of Stringer has often been of great interest externally despite not rival suitor being tied to the veteran forward, with Essendon also needing to come to the table for any deal to be reached.
If Scott's press conference reaction to questions over Stringer's future is anything to go by, it looms likely that an extensive between the Bombers and their polarising attacker will eventually be signed.
"Yeah, I assume [Stringer will be an Essendon player in 2025]," the Essendon coach said with some cheek.
"I'm not going to get into the business of confirming or denying those things, but my wry smile gives a bit away.
"We've got a list management team that goes about their business. My part in it is to set the vision for the club, coach the players really strongly and create an environment in which we want every player to stay. We want other players to see Essendon as a place they want to play their footy.
"But I don't get into the nitty gritty of contract negotiations."
Essendon have a handful of key list calls to make over the coming months, with the likes of Jye Caldwell, Matt Guelfi, Alwyn Davey Jnr, Will Setterfield, Dyson Heppell and Todd Goldstein among their list of unsigned players for next season.
The latter two will have decisions to make this year as to whether they want to play on in 2025, with Heppell and Goldstein the club's two oldest players and have found themselves out of Scott's best side.
With confirmed retirements beginning to come through across the competition as the final three rounds of the season approach, Scott said he isn't seeking answers from any of his veterans but remains in constant dialogue with his senior figures.
"They'll be decisions for those guys to make, predominantly," he said.
"This part of the year, like most clubs we'd have weekly list management meetings. Those discussions will be ongoing.
"I talk to those particular players on a daily basis about how they're travelling. The great thing for our club is that I've rarely come across a group of senior players that focus so much on what's best for the club.
"In Dyson Heppell's case, he's been the face of a really tumultuous period in our history. I've said repeatedly we owe him a debt of gratitude. Our club wouldn't be what it is today without 'Hep' leading us through a really difficult period.
"We'll keep having those discussions and ultimately it'll be Dyson who makes that decision."
Essendon could rise back into the eight and sit as high as sixth by the end of the week with a win over Gold Coast on Saturday night at Marvel, with a victory seeing them claim successive scalps for the first time since Round 11.
