Just how far Essendon want to take their battle with the AFL over the supplements saga will become clearer this week in a pivotal few days for the club and the code.
While an AFL Commission hearing on August 26 is the current D-Day for the Bombers and their four charged officials, including coach James Hird, Essendon could yet pull the trigger on court action.
That could be in the form of an injunction against the AFL's charges and hearing to ensure they play in the finals series, and eventual Supreme Court action which could bog the issue down for months.
Should the matter proceed without legal moves to AFL House, the commission has the right to strip the Bombers of premiership points and their finals spot this season.
If the Bombers decide to divert their fight through the court system, that is likely to happen in the next few days.
New Essendon chairman Paul Little signalled at the weekend his club was determined to receive justice on the charges of bringing the game into disrepute with their controversial 2012 season supplement program.
"The nature of some of these allegations go way beyond what we believe is the truth, in particular with regard to the use of illegal substances," Little said.
"We cannot let these allegations go unchallenged."
The Bombers' off-field issues are clearly affecting their on-field performances.
They slumped to their fourth successive loss since the issue ratcheted up - a 45-point loss to North Melbourne on Saturday.
Essendon have lost those games by an average margin of nearly 10 goals, though they are guaranteed to finish in the top eight this season - unless the AFL decides otherwise.
