A QUARTER of a century after Kevin Sheedy dropped Derek Kickett from Essendon's 1993 premiership side, the pair have buried the hatchet in what's being described as a "confrontational" reunion.

As Sheedy returned to the national stage on Tuesday night, joining just 27 other Australian football greats to reach Hall of Fame Legend status, his reunion with Kickett sparked major interest.

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Fellow Essendon champion Tim Watson has revealed details of the meeting, which was arranged by club chief executive Xavier Campbell. 

"He spoke to Derek and Derek said, yes, it's time. Kevin said, yes, it's time," Watson explained on SEN Wednesday morning.  

"He organised for them to go to his place.

"They met for the first time in 25 years and Derek was very confrontational because there are a lot of things he had on his chest that he needed to get off.

"He did, and he apparently did that in a very forcible way and in a very direct way.

"Kevin, apparently, was magnificent in the way he accepted that.

"They [spoke] for about half an hour, back and forward, and they buried the hatchet and moved on."

Kickett, now 55, played 77 games for Essendon including the side's premiership loss in 1990.

He was dropped for the 1993 decider, comfortably won by the Bombers over Carlton, and later declared that he "hated" Sheedy, who had not told him face to face of his omission from the side.

After missing out on the flag, Kickett moved to Sydney where he completed his AFL career with another 63 games, including another Grand Final loss in 1996.

Before heading to Windy Hill, he played 12 games for North Melbourne in the 1989 season.

Kickett returned to Essendon last week, taking a tour of the club's state-of-the-art facilities at The Hangar in Tullamarine.