Mark Bolton always wanted to play football at Essendon. But with stalled contract negotiations and his name constantly being thrown up during trade week you could have been forgiven for thinking that wasn't the case. ""It is not something I wanted to have to go through again that is for sure. Right from the start I said I wanted to play at Essendon and that is why it has been such a relief to sign,"" Bolton said today.

Bolton has signed a new three-year deal with Essendon. It was a signature that was a long time coming. ""I think everyone was holding out a little bit and that was both myself and the club - we just wanted to see what happened during trade week,"" Bolton said.

So with the new deal done, Bolton will start his build up for 2004. There is every reason to think Bolton will again be an important player for Essendon - his past 18 months have clearly been his best since Essendon picked up Bolton at number four in the 1997 National Draft.

""It is only a few weeks until we are back into it so you just try and relax a bit during that time. You also need to do a bit of running in that time to make sure you are not in terrible knick when you come back,"" Bolton said. ""I've just done a little bit of running since I got back from overseas and some weights.""