"Pull your socks up": Cornes questions Ridley amid trade desire

Essendon defender Jordan Ridley has expressed his desire to leave the club following a treacherous run with injury.

As reported by 9News journalist and SEN regular Tom Morris, the former All-Australian raised the prospect of a trade in his exit meeting with the club last week, related to his frustration around injury management.

Reports suggest that the defender would ideally seek a move to the Brisbane Lions, citing family connections in the state of Queensland while also appearing as the ideal club for dealing with injury management.

As trade period rapidly approaches, SEN's Kane Cornes has continued to vocalise his disapproval of players on long-term deals requesting trades well before their contract's end.

Given Ridley's deal extends through until 2029, Cornes has called out Ridley's desire for a move away from the club after signing a three-year extension as recently as February of 2024.

“I’m on a rampage on players who want to sign long-term, and then not even halfway through, they want out,” Cornes told SEN Fireball.

“I’ve got Charlie Curnow in my crosshairs, and now Jordan Ridley has also been placed in the crosshairs.

“He had a contract until 2026, he wanted the security because he’d had some soft tissue issues, so he signs until the end of 2029.

“Not even halfway through, he wants out. Essendon are denying this, but I believe that Tom Morris has reported that he wants to go and play for Brisbane.

“Pull your socks up. You signed a long-term deal, halfway through you want out because things haven’t gone the way you thought they should… maybe you should have forecast that when you signed a long-term deal and wanted to accept the security.”

With reports suggesting the former All-Australian is keen to join the Brisbane Lions, Cornes teed off on the prospect of requesting to leave for a specific club, stating if a player wants out, it should be up to the club to secure the best available package regardless of the players’ preference.

“Usually when a player wants out, they get out,” he said.

“Long-term deal… we’ll see. They would have to satisfy Essendon. That’s the other thing, ‘I want out, but I want to go to this specific club who is probably going to finish in the top four, who won’t have the draft picks to satisfy us…’

“If you want to go, you’ve got to go anywhere, and Essendon should be able to get the best possible deal.

“It’s become a little bit ridiculous.”

Furthering his initial report, Tom Morris reported that the defender is very much seeking a shift up north.

“Jordan Ridley, the 2020 best and fairest for Essendon, wants to be traded to the Brisbane Lions,” Morris said on Footy Classified on Sunday night.

“Essendon will say he’s committed until 2026. I can tell you tonight that he’s not. He wants to play for the Lions next year.

“Clearly the stumbling block here, is that he’s contracted for another four years, and the Bombers see him as a very important part of the future.”

Bombers great James Hird admits it is a bit concerning that the likes of Ridley are looking to leave the club.

“It’s disappointing that players want to leave the club, particularly Jordan who has been such a terrific player for the club,” said Hird.

“I know he’s had injuries over the last two years, but he’s a real leader and a really steady hand as a person around the club.

“You’re hearing reports that some players want to leave their clubs and it is concerning that the Essendon Football Club players are trying to get away from.

“There’s a lot of reasons, it could be injuries they’ve had or the way they’re going.”

Morris added further: “The injuries are the main reasons for Ridley. He does have family connections up in Queensland as well.

“He’s only played 19 games the last two years. Quad, hip, hamstring as well, so that’s the premise for his decision to look for a new home.”

Drafted in 2016, Ridley has only managed 104 senior games despite being a crucial cog in the Bombers’ back half, nearly 100 games less than fellow draftee Hugh McCluggage, and over 70 less than teammate and 2016 No.1 pick Andrew McGrath.

In 2023, the star defender went down with a high-grade quad strain that ruled him out for the remainder of the season, missing the final six games of the home and away season and significantly denting the Bombers’ hopes of a finals appearance.

Since then, Ridley has only managed 19 games across two seasons, re-injuring his quad during a pre-season game in 2024, returning to play just nine games before straining his hip flexor in Round 20.

In 2025, Ridley has endured three significant hamstring complaints, the most recent of which occurred during their Round 10 smashing at the hands of the Western Bulldogs.