Essendon believe the drug case that has dogged them over three seasons could be resolved by year's end, providing what the club hope will be a clear demarcation from the sorry chapter before the 2016 season.

Bombers chairman Paul Little used what's anticipated would be his last pre-match address, to share the hope with special guests and major sponsors. Little also forecast that the Bombers are set to announce a panel that will select a permanent replacement for James Hird as senior coach.

Fairfax Media understands the full membership of the selection panel, which will include CEO Xavier Campbell and director Chris Heffernan, could be announced as soon as Monday.

It's understood Essendon have been eager to include a voice with sporting nous, but outside football, similar to how Carlton engaged Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou for the exercise that ultimately led to Brendon Bolton's appointment last week. Before Essendon's last home game of yet another season tarnished by anti-doping proceedings against players that will be heard in the Court of Arbitration for sport on November 16, Little projected an immediate future with clear air.

The hearing for the CAS date was set and announced in the lead-up to the Bombers' round-22 match against Richmond.

"The CAS hearing now scheduled for November 16 could see the ASADA process conclude in December and therefore giving the playing group an opportunity to perform without the burden of ASADA," Little said at his chairman's function, which was attended by representatives of club sponsors KIA, Antler Luggage and Yakult.

Former AFL commissioner, Essendon supporter and now governor of Victoria Linda Dessau, was also a guest at what could be the last match function Little hosts, given he has said he will stand aside when the WADA case against 34 current and retired Essendon players is finally resolved.

While Little clearly felt comfortable enough on Saturday night to forecast the timing of that major breakthrough, there is no guarantee of a pre-2016 resolution through the CAS.

Little also took the opportunity pre-match to thank James Hird — cut loose by the Bombers a fortnight ago — saying the man whose face is now synonymous with the drug scandal would "always" be welcome at Essendon and part of the Bombers family.

Little described Hird as a "legend of our club and a legend of the AFL".

Noting that the Bombers set a membership record of more than 60,000 this year, remarkable given the cataclysmic and severely damaging events that have transpired, Little's assessment of the on-field performance was blunt.

That, Little said, had "fallen well short of expectations". He named two mitigating factors at Saturday's function: injuries to key players and the "ASADA/WADA process".

Also set to announce a new three-year strategy upon the completion of an internal review, Little said the club must now "regenerate the list" as it aspires to be "the most respected, inclusive and successful" football club in Australia.

"It should not be underestimated how quickly things can turn around," he said.

The club is holding a members forum in October and will launch a new blockbuster theme match in 2016.