Speaking on SEN Radio on Wednesday, Watson also said the judgement of the AFL anti-doping tribunal to clear 34 past and present Essendon players of taking the banned substance thymosin beta-4 during the controversial 2012 supplements program would bring to an end an episode that had extracted a heavy toll on his son, Essendon captain Jobe Watson.

Watson took aim at "wild, speculative commentary" that had influenced people's opinions. He also disagreed with Fairfax Media's Caroline Wilson, who wrote that "it had never been suggested that the Essendon players were cheats or had any idea that the drugs administered might have been at odds with the AFL's anti-doping code".

"I don't blame the AFL for what happened at Essendon but the fact is they didn't have an open mind about this investigation when it began," Watson said. "One of the first things they said was 'we know you're players have been taking performance drugs, they're cheats'. That was the beginning, that was their view before they even conducted the investigation."

He said he did not know who should carry the most blame for overseeing the program which he "(did not) believe they ever should have embarked upon". But he said if the players believed in Hird, then he should remain coach.

"I'm not angry with Hirdy anymore," Watson said. "There was a time when I didn't think he could be the Essendon coach. My belief now is that if he has the trust of the players and they believe that he should be their coach, given what many of them have been through, is if they are prepared to stand up and play for him then I am comfortable with him being the coach."

Watson said he was disappointed at the actions of those who were responsible for overseeing the program, but "came to the realisation" that it was not a treacherous act of "any kind but just an act of irresponsibility, really".

"In terms of apportioning blame I still don't know who should receive the most blame (and) who should receive the least amount of blame," Watson said.

"I'm not bitter towards James, I've been angry at him, I've been angry at Danny (Corcoran), Bruce Reid, Bomber Thompson, all these people. They're my friends. It's been like a tightrope that you walk in a situation like this because it's a very uncomfortable position you find yourself in because through their actions you are going through what you're going through with your son."

Watson said Jobe had been to "hell and back".

"Even though he's 30 and he's a man your children are your children," he said.

"He has been doing shuttle runs to hell and back for 26 months and I've notived that in his demeanour and his personality, how it's changed him and as a parent looking on, it is heartbreaking. It is very difficult to deal wth that as a parent."

"... The other thing that really touched me in all of this was I really didn't know or realise how much I loved my football club until it was immersed in this as well and what this has done to the reputation of something that I was proud of representing, so it really hit me hard (with) people trashing the Essendon Football Club because of this and the Essendon Football Club gave people a lot of reasons too because of the way it handled itself and conducted itself over that period of time and embarked upon something I don't believe they ever should have embarked upon."

Meanwhile, Anne Maree Heppell - the mother of Bomber Dyson - has said she "felt like crying after the learning the good news".

"We were listening and I just got a message from Dyson as soon as the decision was handed down and I just felt like crying," Mrs Heppell said on 3AW on Monday night.

"You couldn't realise what a relief it was."

Despite that, Mrs Heppell said she was disappointed not to know what the players had taken.

"As much as you will find out, I suppose," she said.

"We really don't know. He doesn't know himself."

Essendon midifielder Brendon Goddard was another relieved party following the decision. Goddard only arrived at the Bombers after the 2012 season, and as such was not at risk of being suspended, but said that it would have been a "disaster" had the players been found guilty.

"We were there to support the guys regardless of the situation," Goddard said on Fox Footy's AFL 360 program.

The former Saint said he saw first hand what the cleared players had been through.

"I have a huge amount (of empathy for the players). When you're in there, you deal with it from day-to-day, but the guys have been incredible, the way they've gone about it."

"Their ability to stay focused on what's important has been incredible. Every guy was going to deal with things differently and they have, so the empathy has been huge.

"How proud I am of the guys and what they've gone through is immense."