The Dons had been removed from the first two rounds of the draft, which meant they had few bargaining chips in the trading period. Stewart Crameri was heading for the Bulldogs, Scott Gumbleton to Freo. There was a short-term need for a forward to feast at the feet of an inexperienced Joe Daniher and Jake Carlisle. The club lacked capable small forwards.

Chapman, by dint of his delisting at Geelong, would come at heavily discounted rates - around $300,000 this year - for a triple premiership player and Norm Smith medallist who had booted four goals and had 20 touches in his last outing, a final which he helped to turn.

The queue of suitors for Chappy wasn't that extensive, in part because of his age and injury record. Carlton was interested, but Chapman and his manager Liam Pickering had identified the Bombers as a potential match. Chapman's preference was for a club that was somewhere near contention, and the Dons felt they were close enough to a flag to take him.

The more contentious part of Chapman's late career change of clubs was Geelong's decision to jettison this popular and highly accomplished player - a tough call that would always rankle with supporters. But the Cats had enough list management credits - and credibility - to persuade the world that Chappy had to be moved on.

On the evidence of three matches in 2014, Essendon is on track to harvest a hefty return from a small, short-term investment. Chapman's nine goals, an average of 21.76 disposals a game - and the timely nature of his interventions - have made him one of Essendon's most influential three or four players, along with Brendon Goddard.

Unlike Geelong, the Dons didn't view Chapman as a player who would deprive others of games; they were not a team in transition, with a need to quickly bring in a raft of kids. They were reaching for the clouds. Mark Thompson's presence has made Chapman's transition to another club ''much easier'' according to Pickering.

''It's a perfect fit,'' said the manager, who added that Chapman's axing by the Cats had been in the wind throughout 2013. ''They were up front. It wasn't a complete shock.''

The question of durability remains the major question mark on Chapman, whose last game at Geelong might have been stellar, but it was still only his eighth of 2013, due to a hamstring injury that lingered.

Essendon was confident in its medical assessment, and while Chapman is doubtful to make the flight to Perth this weekend, the Dons would view an ankle complaint as less worrisome than any hamstring, calf or groin - at 32, the soft tissues are hard work.

''It's all about his body, not about his skill,'' said Pickering.

Geelong has replaced Chapman, in part, by sending Jimmy Bartel forward, and pushing James Kelly back to Bartel's former position behind the ball. No single player has filled Chapman's boots; rather, it is a case that the Cats have opened up a slot that can be filled by several players, on a rotational basis.

Jordan Murdoch has played all three games, and performed well, and Josh Caddy has cemented himself in the side as a large-bodied midfielder. The Cats fielded a side last weekend with nine players who had played fewer than 50 games. That they haven't lost yet means there has been less angst about the Chapman delisting.

They are comfortable and relaxed about the decision, in the belief they have to stagger the exits of veterans. Joel Corey and James Podsiadly were easier calls than Chapman, not because they weren't equally great clubmen.

They just weren't as capable of winning and influencing games. And Corey didn't want to keep playing so badly - he declined an offer from Great Western Sydney - or to prove that he still could play, as Chappy did.