FORMER Essendon coach Mark Thompson says the Bombers must play their NAB Challenge opener against St Kilda on March 7.

Essendon has threatened to boycott the NAB Challenge in a bid to protect the identity of players serving provisional suspensions after receiving anti-doping infraction notices.

Those players are concerned they risk resetting the backdated period of any potential ban if they play in the NAB Challenge.

The AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal hearing that will determine the fate of the 34 current and former Essendon players charged with doping offences will finish receiving all submissions on February 18

The Tribunal members will then retire to consider their decision. There is no timetable for the Tribunal to make a ruling.

However, Thompson, now working with 3AW after coaching the club in 2014, told the radio station the Bombers should find a way to field a team in the NAB Challenge, regardless of the circumstances.

"There needs to be a game," Thompson said.

"You can't have a team scheduled to play and the team not play.

"Somehow they've got to come to a resolution. I'm not sure what the best resolution is, but I think it'd be very, very disappointing if the game wasn't played."

If the boycott eventuated, Thompson said both players and coaches would be concerned about a lack of matches before the premiership season.

"You can train as hard as you like but it's actually playing against real opposition that does get you conditioned for the real season," he said.

"if they never had that time on the ground against a real opposition, they might start the season slowly."

After the game against St Kilda, Essendon's NAB Challenge campaign is scheduled to continue against Greater Western Sydney in Blacktown on March 13 before concluding against Melbourne at Etihad Stadium on March 20.