Essendon's No.1 ruckman Patrick Ryder is understood to have told the crisis-stricken AFL club he definitely wants out.
Ryder confirmed his wishes before Friday's devastating Federal Court ruling.
Essendon have not given up and plan to meet with him again.
But the Federal Court judgement has probably killed off any slight chance the Bombers had of changing Ryder's mind.
Ryder's future is one of several major issues facing Essendon as they continue to struggle with the fallout from their supplements scandal.
Essendon and coach James Hird confidently went to the Federal Court to test the legality of last year's joint AFL-ASADA investigation.
But on Friday, Justice John Middleton handed down a stunning verdict where he comprehensively ruled against Hird and the club.
The ruling means ASADA can now go ahead with show cause notices against 34 current and former Essendon players, with the potential for anti-doping bans.
ASADA are yet to confirm how long the players will have to respond to the show-cause notices, but it is understood to be 10 or 14 days.
The Federal Court has confirmed Essendon and Hird have 21 days - with a deadline of October 10 - to consider appealing.
But an appeal would add to the club's mounting legal costs.
The ruling means Hird's future as Essendon coach is again in the spotlight.
And former Essendon fitness chief Dean Robinson is continuing legal action against the club, claiming he was made a scapegoat during last year's fallout from the supplements program.
There has also been growing speculation about Ryder's future in the last few days.
Not surprisingly, rival clubs are showing interest in Essendon's No.1 ruckman after his stellar season.
Brisbane have led the way, but Port Adelaide and Greater Western Sydney are also said to be keen.
Ryder was unlucky not to make this year's All-Australian squad.
While he is tied to Essendon, the strong speculation is that Ryder would activate a little-known clause in the standard AFL player contract.
It allows a player to break his deal and become a delisted free agent if he can argue a breach of contract.
Then Essendon would face the difficult decision of how far they would be prepared to go to stop Ryder leaving.
Key Bombers figures such as interim coach Mark Thompson and reigning best and fairest winner Brendon Goddard have made it clear this month that they want Ryder to stay.
Hird and 'Dons chairman Paul Little were grim-faced outside the court as they briefly spoke to the media after Justice Middleton released his findings.
"Essendon is understandably very disappointed at today's Federal Court decision," Little said, reading from a statement.
"Obviously it's one that we now need to go away and deliberate, work through the findings and then determine whether or not we will want to go to an appeal.
"In taking our proceedings, our priority has always been to protect and vindicate the legal rights of our players.
"The club maintains its confidence that on all the evidence that we have at our disposal, neither harmful nor banned substances were given to our players during the 2012 season."
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