ESSENDON chairman Paul Little says the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal could run until late January, as he revealed the club had spent $1.1 million on legal fees in 2014.

After the opening day of the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal hearing involving 34 current and former Essendon players, Little addressed club members at the Bombers' annual general meeting.

ASADA is alleging the players breached the anti-doping code through the use of banned peptide Thymosin Beta-4, and Little said the tribunal, which is being held behind closed doors in the Victorian County Court, could extend deep into January.

"Today the AFL anti-doping tribunal began and it will sit again on Thursday and Friday before breaking for Christmas. It will resume on Monday, 12 January, and could run until late January," Little said.

"We hope this is the last step before our players’ names can be cleared once and for all and we can all move forward, putting this major distraction behind us."

Little said the club had continued to work closely with the AFL Players' Association to bring an end to the "stress and disruption being endured by our club and supporters", but a conclusion would not be reached swiftly at the expense of the players.  

"The ASADA process continues to place pressure on our players, our board, the club's administration and our members and stakeholders," he said.

"Make no mistake, we, like everyone in this room, want this matter finalised as quickly as possible.

"But I am sure you will agree that we cannot and will not compromise the position of our players for the sake of a quick resolution simply to satisfy the broader public."

Despite being able to record a $721,000 trading profit, Little acknowledged the financial cost of the saga after total legal costs amounted to $1.1 million to date this year.

"The ongoing ASADA investigation and our determination to fight for our players’ rights, occupied significant management and board focus, and at the same time incurred material cost for our club," he said.

Click here for full coverage of the Essendon supplements saga

Answering questions from members, Little said the club had hoped to attend the hearing this week, but was not allowed to have any officials present.

In front of a largely full Clocktower Centre at Moonee Ponds, Little identified a number of ways the club would continue to be more open with members, including the establishment of an annual member forum.

Little also said he had met with legendary Essendon coach Kevin Sheedy about a return to the Bombers in the future, and that he would continue to discuss options with the four-time premiership coach.

Bombers coach James Hird was absent for the meeting, as he completes his MBA course overseas, but in a recorded message he said he hoped the club could move on from its difficult two seasons.  

"It's been a huge year, a huge two years, and it's affected all of us in different ways. For every supporter, every member, the board, the players and coaches and staff, hopefully we'll move through this very quickly and become a better football club because of what's happened," Hird said.

"But obviously there's a lot to learn, we've learned a lot from mistakes we've made and [we're] very keen to move through it and become a better football club."