General manager of football operations Paul Hamilton said the club made a formal submission to AFL Victoria detailing Essendon’s desire to continue playing games in Bendigo next year.

“Our submission to AFL Victoria outlined the club’s commitment to the Bendigo region and our desire to play games there next season,” Hamilton said.

“The exact structure as to how this might look is being negotiated with AFL Victoria but we believe that we have established strong links with the Bendigo community and have made it clear to AFL Victoria that we would like to see this relationship continue.”