Compensation claims are the major barrier to Essendon, and the 34 players embroiled in the AFL club's scandalous 2012 supplements regime, achieving closure after captain Jobe Watson's decision to re-commit to the club.
Watson, who captained the club for six seasons leading into his year-long suspension, was the last - and most significant - of a dozen Bombers to declare their intentions for 2017.
Essendon chief executive Xavier Campbell said Watson's commitment was a great moment.
"It was really important to us as a football club ...there's still some aspects and challenges we need to get to but we're certainly moving in the right direction," he told reporters on Friday.
Campbell learned of Watson's intentions with a text message just a minute before the midfielder's Twitter declaration that he would need his boots back from his dog.
But that "really satisfying moment" hasn't clouded Campbell to the scale of work that still lies in front of the club.
Top of that list are the claims levelled by the 34 players involved in the club's doping regime four years ago.
Last week, Fairfax Media reported the club had settled at least three claims, and Campbell wants to complete the rest in the next two months.
"When you talk about the remaining steps to get closure, that's a really important one for us and importantly for those players," he said.
"We have settled a handful of claims and we've progressed the majority.
"Our priority is to move though those claims because that is respectful and that is appropriate
"We would have liked to have got to a position a little bit quicker but anything legal requires a fair bit of work, a fair bit of patience.
"We are definitely making progress and I'd like to think in the next six to eight weeks we can get to a final position."
The same report said ruckman Tom Bellchambers received up to $200,000 for his claim.
Both Watson and Campbell praised Essendon's stand-off approach during the year, which resulted in 10 of 12 contracted players re-committing to the club.
"It wasn't something we were selling to him or any of the other players," Campbell said.
"For each of them its taken a different amount of time and we're really happy with the outcome."
