Essendon have announced that Best and Fairest Jordan Ridley has penned a new four-year deal with the club after breakout 2020 season
Ridley becomes the third Bomber in as many days to sign a new contract with the club, with Andrew McGrath and Kyle Langford also singing on for the future.
The 21-year-old proved to be a formidable defender for Essendon this season, bringing elite ball use and intercepting to the Bombers back-line.
Ridley won the 2020 Crichton Medal after just 26 games with the club, with the defender stating his excitement to commit to the club.
“I’m really grateful to the club for the opportunity to extend my contract, and it was a pretty easy decision to get to,” Ridley said.
“I’ve worked really closely with Ben Rutten and (line coach) James Kelly this season and they’ve given me a lot of belief but working closely with Michael Hurley down back particularly has been really beneficial for my game.
“We’re not satisfied with our season by any stretch and we have a lot of hard work to do this pre-season but under ‘Truck’ (Rutten), I’m really confident in where we’re heading over the next few years as a group. It’s going to be pretty exciting to be a part of it for at least the next four years to see what we can all do together.”
Essendon list manager Adrian Dodoro said the contract extension was warranted following a fantastic 2020 campaign.
“Jordan is a reliable, elegant and composed footballer who I know Bombers supporters have really enjoyed seeing the emergence of in 2020,” Dodoro said.
“He dealt with a number of injuries early in his career, but Jordan goes about his business quietly, works incredibly hard to get the best out of himself and that was highlighted this season by his best-and-fairest win. He is a big part of our future, so we were delighted to get this deal done with Jordan and his management team.
“At only 21 years of age, he will only continue to grow his game over the years to come which is an exciting prospect for the Essendon Football Club.”
