Former Essendon star Paddy Ryder says he has put his painful exit from the club behind him and has returned determined to drive standards and put the Bombers “back up where we belong”.
The 34-year-old Noongar man will take up a role as an Indigenous Player Development Manager at Essendon, almost 10 years after he left for Port Adelaide in the aftermath of the supplements saga.
He will work with the club’s Indigenous players, including twin sons of his former teammate Alwyn Davey senior, and first-to-third-year players through the Jack Jones Academy.
Paddy Ryder returns to Essendon.Credit: Essendon Media
He will also contribute to the club’s community and development programs.
Ryder’s appointment is a significant one for Essendon as it works to revive on-field performances under new coach Brad Scott, and rebuild the club’s links with Indigenous Australia.
Ryder was a popular and important figure at the Bombers, chosen at pick No.7 in the 2005 national draft. He played 170 games for the club and kicked 117 goals.
Ryder was one of the 34 past and present Essendon players suspended for the 2016 season after the Court of Arbitration for Sport found them guilty of taking banned substance Thymosin Beta-4 as part of the 2012 supplements program. By then, Ryder had moved to Port, citing the stress of the ASADA investigation, and the ruckman finished his career with St Kilda last year.
However, Ryder said the controversy surrounding his departure from Essendon was in the past.
“There’s obviously a lot of commentary about it, and it’s still spoken about by some people. In terms of the way I look at it, it’s a long time ago now and everyone’s moved on - and that’s the way it should be. So, for me, it’s all about the 2023 Bombers,” Ryder told The Age. “You know, just getting back in there and really have an impact with our young Indigenous boys first and foremost.
”It’s always been in the back of my mind to get back there to the club that gave me my first opportunity. I’ve always wanted to get back there and repay the club a little bit.
“It’s been nine years, and I’ve got a lot of fond memories and great relationships from Essendon... It’s just come about this year that the club reached out to me, and I was deciding what I was going to do post football, and it all just aligned,” Ryder continued.
“As a player [I] may have felt a bit different but in terms of now... I’m about doing whatever I can in the club to drive the club standards up and get the Bombers back up to where we belong.”
Paddy Ryder doing battle with Josh Fraser in the ruck in 2009.Credit: Pat Scala
Essendon were pioneers in recruiting and championing First Nations footballers under Kevin Sheedy, and Ryder said he wanted to continue this work both withing the club and in the community.
”We’ve got six Indigenous boys on the list now. So when I was back at the club, we had numbers like that up and around seven, eight, nine,” he said.
“It’s a huge focus and to be a part of that is something that I’m going to be really proud of. I’m really proud that the club’s appointed me to help out in that area, and drive the club forward.
“Everything that I’ve learned over my journey, through good and bad, I can help them with all that experience.”
Ryder had the locker next to Davey’s during their playing careers, and now he will mentor his sons Alwyn junior and Jayden. Davey was number 29 and Ryder 30.
“We sat next to each other in the lockers and I spent a lot of time around their house. So, I remember seeing them when they were little fellows and just running around… They are sort of family to me,” said Ryder.
“I’ve known them for a long time, so yeah, just get back in there and be their family in the club while their parents are living up in Darwin.”
Ryder will also be reuniting with the likes of Michael Hurley (development coach), Dyson Heppell and Zach Merrett, from his playing days.
“I saw Hurls today when I went in there and I saw his big smile... To work alongside him and see his face every day, and also Hepp, some of those guys are just, [we] always got along so well and [I’m] really fond of them. So yeah, I’m just really excited to get back in there.”