2 weeks ago
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Essendon sympathises with Jordan Ridley’s frustration with injuries but have shut down any suggestion they would be prepared to trade the contracted defender.
Ridley spoke of his deep frustration at ongoing hamstring injuries and his fitness management when he met with the Bombers coach Brad Scott and footy heads for his exit meeting last week.
According to a Channel Nine report the intercept defender asked for a trade to Brisbane. A club source said the conversation was more subtle and nuanced than that, but the response from the club to the idea of trading him was anything but subtle or nuanced: he is going nowhere.
Essendon defender Jordan Ridley.Credit: Getty Images
Ridley is contracted until the end of 2029 and the club has said they will not entertain a trade. A change of fitness and conditioning staff in the off-season is hoped to improve the confidence in the management of players.
Ridley played just 10 games this year after nine last year and 17 the year before – he was also subbed out injured in some of those games in each of the last three seasons.
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He can be forgiven for being deeply frustrated and sceptical of the fitness program he has been on particularly as he was joined on the injury list by nearly half of his teammates. Essendon endured the worst run of injuries of any club this year and one of the worst the AFL has seen.
It saw them introduce 15 debutants this season and take a record four players in the mid-season draft out of necessity as they lacked numbers to field a team. Essendon had 14 players who suffered season-ending injuries during the year and in the final round had 16 players on their injury list.
The club parted with conditioning coach Sean Murphy late in the season.
“Our high-performance and medical team is critical to the success of our football program, and we’re committed to undertaking all necessary work required to help us improve in this area,” Essendon football boss Dan McPherson said at the time of the announcement of Murphy’s departure.
“This decision enables us to take a fresh approach and reshape the team as we prepare for a crucial off-season ahead of the 2026 AFL campaign.”
Several Essendon players are poised to travel overseas for specialist help for injuries in the off-season.
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