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Bombers to welcome back exiled figures

Oliver CaffreyAAP
Former coach Mark Thompson is expected to receive an Essendon 150-year anniversary party invite.
Camera IconFormer coach Mark Thompson is expected to receive an Essendon 150-year anniversary party invite. Credit: AAP

Essendon will attempt to welcome estranged past Bombers figures, including David Evans and Mark Thompson, back for the AFL club's 150th anniversary celebrations.

The Bombers on Friday launched a new logo in preparation for next year as they look back to when the club was founded in 1872.

Essendon have endured a turbulent past decade, on and off the field, with the supplements saga the obvious low point.

Bombers chief executive Xavier Campbell said he wanted to welcome back anyone involved in the history of the club.

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Evans stood down as Essendon chairman during the height of the saga in 2013, and has not been involved in football since.

Thompson coached the Bombers in 2014, when James Hird was serving his one-year suspension, but the former Essendon great's personal life has seriously unravelled since.

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"We've got a 150-year working group, of which that is a common discussion point about how we go about ensuring people feel welcome," Campbell told SEN.

"It doesn't matter from what era, it doesn't matter on the back of what challenge.

"We have this unique opportunity in the 150th year for us to certainly create that platform and that will be an ambition for the club."

A documentary, incorporating the controversial elements of the supplements saga, will screen on Foxtel in October.

Former Essendon players and key figures are expected to open up on the dramatic events of the early 2010s.

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