ESSENDON veterans Dustin Fletcher and Jason Winderlich will play on next year in a win for the besieged Bombers.

Winderlich and manager Marty Pask met 2015 coach James Hird and list manager Adrian Dodoro yesterday, agreeing to reverse his decision to retire.

He had previously held firm about his decision to make 2014 his final year, but was convinced over lunch at a Port Melbourne cafe

Fletcher is holidaying in Bali with his family and while an official decision has not been announced, he too will go around in 2015.

Essendon’s players continue to ward off inquiries from rival clubs and could yet lose Paddy Ryder for little or no compensation.

But the presence of Fletcher, the game’s oldest player at 38, and Winderlich, 30 early next month, will be a steadying influence as James Hird returns.

Fletcher may have made a late return for the club if Essendon had progressed through to the semi-finals after getting a pin removed from his finger this week.

Any reservations fans might have had about him going on were erased when North Melbourne’s Ben Brown got hold of the Dons in the elimination final.

Young Bombers defender Ariel Steinberg was playing just his third game but battled to contain the Roos’ four-goal hero.

Fletcher would become the second-oldest player in AFL history behind 43-year-old Vic Cumberland and needs just seven games to become the third player to hit 400 games.

Even when the Bombers tried to convince Winderlich to reconsider his retirement mid-season he said his body would not allow him.

“(It’s) a battle to get up each week. Just looking forward I’m not 100 per cent confident in my body that I would get through not just another pre season but another full season either,” Winderlich said in August.

“I’d rather go out when I feel comfortable and that I’m still contributing as opposed I don’t want to finish playing footy in the VFL let alone get some more injuries.”

But the Bombers believe he can be nursed through another pre-season, perhaps training rarely until Christmas, to ensure he hits Round 1 fresh and uninjured.

Ruckman Tom Bellchambers this week had more ankle surgery with the Bombers not yet sure when he will return to pre-season training.

He shapes as critical to the club given Ryder might walk out for nothing.

Bellchambers was a shell of his former self this year after a pre-season ankle injury but showcased his potential with an exceptional 2013 season.

Brent Stanton (hip arthroscope) also had surgery this week, with several players including Tayte Pears undergoing surgery before the season was out.