ESSENDON has vowed to "fight like hell" to keep Joe Daniher next season, as Sydney prepares for another bid at the key forward when he becomes a free agent.

The blockbuster deal of this year's Telstra AFL Trade Period fell over on the final day, with Daniher's wish to move to the Swans thwarted by the Bombers' asking price of a Sydney player. 

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It means the 2017 best and fairest and All Australian forward will remain at Essendon in 2020, despite having asked to be traded from the club when he was a member of its leadership group.

Essendon list manager Adrian Dodoro said at the conclusion of the trade period that the Bombers were never offered the Swans' pick No.5, confirming AFL.com.au's report from September that their top selection was not going to be a part of their prospective deal.

Joe is a free agent next year and we're going to fight like hell to retain him - Adrian Dodoro

Dodoro said the best offer Essendon received was pick nine (which belonged to Carlton but may have made its way to Sydney as part of the Tom Papley deal) and a future first-round pick.

"[Pick] five wasn't on the table," Dodoro said.

"In these things there's a lot of discussions and to-ing and fro-ing They've got their reasons for what they did, and we had really respectful discussions throughout the week.

"In the end our philosophy was that we wanted a player to be a part of this, and they couldn't see their way around it. We respect that and they respect what our wishes were and we shake hands and have moved on."

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Dodoro said he had contacted Daniher an hour before the deadline and that the spearhead was "obviously a little bit disappointed".

He said the club would try to open contract negotiations over the off-season to extend Daniher's stay at Tullamarine beyond next year and that Daniher would be welcomed back to the Bombers.

"Joe is a free agent next year and we're going to fight like hell to retain him. But if we're in this position in 12 months' time then that's the nature of the game and you have to accept it and move on," he said.

"Having said that, we're really confident we can provide the environment for Joey."

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Sydney football manager Charlie Gardiner said the Swans were not open to trading any of their players and confirmed they had not placed pick No.5 on the table.

"We went into the negotiation with what we thought was an attractive draft hand. We were open-minded with what a selection of picks might look like to satisfy Essendon. We were open to exploring a number of options or arrangements," Gardiner said.

"In the end it was made pretty clear to us that pick five and pick nine, or two first-round picks wasn't going to be enough so it's a bit moot now. We weren't able to satisfy Essendon with draft selections."

Gardiner said the club didn't see their inability to land Daniher as a failure, and that they would again pursue the 25-year-old next year.

"Well revisit it obviously in 12 months' time and see how we go," he said.

Daniher's manager Nigel Carmody said his client would have to return to the club when pre-season starts with his "chest out". 

"He's got really good relationships at Essendon which allowed this process to unfold in some respects as well. The open chats he had with [CEO] Xavier Campbell and some of the players as well indicate how those relationships are," Carmody said.

"They were respectful of him through the whole process, as he was with them, [so] it's just about getting back to business."

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