All eyes are on Essendon ruckman Patrick Ryder as reports emerge that his manager is considering invoking a clause in his contract that could allow the ruckman to leave the club.
He would be the first Essendon player to claim the 2011 supplements scandal amounted a breach of contractual terms by the club, leaving it with no claim on Ryder nor able to trade him.
Ryder signed a four-year contract in 2012 that included a clause that reflected the AFL Player’s Association’s (AFLPA) concerns about Essendon’s breaches.
The club has little defence to Ryder’s claim of a breach after its own internal investigation concluded that player’s faced potential risks from a “pharmaceutically experimental environment”.
In 2013 the AFLPA gave advice to player managers on the rights of Bombers players, but no-one invoked a claim of contractual breach.
“From our perspective, the principle is quite straightforward,” AFLPA chief executive Matt Finniss said last year.
“Although the point has clearly been raised in the context of the Essendon situation, the principle is far broader and general in its application. That is, any player who validly terminates his contract as a result of a serious breach by his club cannot in good conscience be required to remain on the list of the club following the termination.”
Now that reports have emerged that Ryder is having talks with other clubs, Essendon is facing a difficult situation where it could lose players and receive nothing in return.
The Age reported today that Ryder’s manager has cited potential health risks as a result of the club’s supplements regime and that he wants out.
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The 26-year-old has been linked most prominently to the Brisbane Lions as well as Greater Western Sydney.
“Fairfax Media understands Ryder’s management has been in talks with both Brisbane and Greater Western Sydney with the in-form ruckman showing a preference to move to a non-traditional football town,” the report said.
“(Essendon) Chairman Paul Little knows that Ryder’s manager, Paul Connors, has been talking to at least two clubs.
“Connors, who did not return calls on Wednesday, is understood to have checked the status of the rule change with the AFLPA. The AFL’s general counsel, Andrew Dillon, has also been consulted.”
And that’s the conundrum for Essendon: as it seeks to move on from the saga that’s dogged it for two years, the players who stuck by it may start packing their bags.
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