Essendon’s supplements debacle has cost the AFL club nearly $10 million over the last year.

On the same day that the AFL officially stripped Bombers star Jobe Watson of his 2012 Brownlow Medal, the club announced an operating loss of $9.8 million.

In January, the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled against 34 current and past Essendon players, including Watson, over doping offences related to the club’s disastrous 2012 supplements regime.

The Bombers said that CAS finding had several direct and indirect impacts on their bottom line.

The doping bans severely weakened their AFL side and Essendon finished last.

Essendon chief executive Xavier Campbell said they had a unique set of challenges this season.

“While we’ve been stringent in our financial operations, a number of one-off costs severely impacted the financial result,” he added.

“Shortly after the CAS decision, the board and administration implemented serious measures to respond to these challenges, including a range of cost cutting measures and identifying greater efficiencies across the business.

“With the abnormal costs to our business now largely behind us, we are confident that our underlying business model, debt reduction plan and strategic priorities, will return Essendon to a position of strength in the coming years.”

Essendon said the net additional cost of player compensation claims and legal fees was $4.5 million.

Additionally, they had to fork out $1.5 million for short-term player contracts so they could field an AFL team.

They also lost $3.1 million in reduced gate takings and other revenue.

Essendon took another hit of $806,000 as they wrote off assets at their old Windy Hill ground.

Campbell said their current debt was just over $9 million.

“We expect debt levels to peak during 2017 and our strong cash flows from normal operations will then allow us to begin paying down the debt,” Campbell added.

“Despite these issues, we have taken a number of important steps to ensure a positive future for our club both on and off the field and I am confident we can now transition into a new era with a strong sense of optimism and purpose.”

Essendon will welcome back most of their banned players next season, including Watson.

They will hold their annual general meeting on December 19.