All legal avenues for the Essendon players who served bans for offences arising from the Bombers' contentious supplements program in 2012 ended when the Swiss federal court rejected an appeal by the 34 past and present Bombers.

The remaining loose end is the fate of Watson's Brownlow. The AFL had invited Watson to make a submission to the Commission on whether he should be able to keep the award, but a decision was deferred until after the appeal - which took written submissions only - took place in Switzerland.

An AFL statement said the date would provide the parties appropriate time to prepare to argue their cases. Hawthorn's Sam Mitchell and Richmond's Trent Cotchin tied for second placing, on 26 votes, four behind Watson, in the 2012 count.