Paddy Ryder

Early life

A Noongar/Yamatji man, Ryder's father Revis Ryder also played football for East Fremantle.

Ryder was part of the AFL under-18 All-Australian team and represented Australia in the under-18 international rules in Ireland. He had a successful career in the West Australian Football League (WAFL), playing for the East Fremantle Football Club.

AFL career

Ryder has 'freak' speed, agility and leap for someone of his size and it is these attributes that has him compared to retired Indigenous Australian rules football star Graham "Polly" Farmer.

Essendon (2006-2014)

Essendon secured Ryder with its first selection in the 2005 AFL Draft, which was the seventh pick in the League.

He made his debut in round 1, 2006 against Sydney and played mostly ruck. His debut went down as one to remember as the Bombers embarrassed the 2005 premiers by 27 points, in what would be their only win for the first 16 rounds of the season, and his only win that year.

Ryder was awarded a NAB Rising Star nomination for his efforts in Round 1, 2007. He won the Anzac Medal in 2009 after teammate David Hille was injured in the opening minutes of the game, resulting in Ryder rucking unassisted for the entire game.

Ryder played his 100th AFL game in Round 6, 2011 in a match where Essendon defeated the Gold Coast Suns by 139 points.

Ryder's improved form in the second half of the 2013 season after struggling with poor output and low confidence saw him play a big role in Essendon’s push to the finals. He played mainly in the ruck, where his tap-work was crucial, and also played Forward and in defence. The 26-year-old has the ability to be one of the Bombers' key game-breakers, but can struggle with consistency.

Ryder remained a vital part of the Essendon outfit as firstly a ruckman and then an option as he pushed forward with his lightning pace and high-marking ability. Ryder had a solid start to 2014, including a two-goal performance in round 9 against Sydney. Ryder has announced himself as a player who can break games open and become a match-winner.

Port Adelaide (2015-present)

At the end of the 2014 season, it was reported that Ryder had quit Essendon and had nominated Port Adelaide as his preferred club of destination. On 16 October, he was traded to the Power.

Being Port Adelaide's big name recruit for season 2015, Ryder was unable to take part in the pre-season trial matches and was only cleared from his provisional suspension a few prior to the round one game against Fremantle due to the ASADA drugs investigation. He played in 18 games for the Power, which included games where he kicked 3 goals in both Showdowns and a 4 goal haul against his former club Essendon.

Ryder, along with 33 other past and present Essendon players, was found guilty of using a banned performance enhancing substance, thymosin beta-4, as part of Essendon's sports supplements program during the 2012 season. He and his team-mates were initially found not guilty in March 2015 by the AFL Anti-Doping Tribunal, but a guilty verdict was returned in January 2016 after an appeal by the World Anti-Doping Agency. He was suspended for two years which, with backdating, ended in November 2016; as a result, he served approximately fourteen months of his suspension and missed the entire 2016 AFL season.

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