
Todd Ridley

DOB: 11/02/1969
Height: 187 cm
Weight: 87 kg
Playing number: 18
Arrived: Drafted with pick 13 in the 1990 AFL draft
Debut: Round 2 vs Richmond, 1991
Games: 25
Goals: 21
Won: WAFL Premiership - 1996
Bernie Naylor Medal - 1998
Departed: Traded to Fremantle as an uncontracted player at the end of the 1994 season
A high flyer who had the versatility to play at either end of the ground, injuries and form meant Todd Ridley never quite reached the next level and will always be remembered best by Essendon fans for the currency he ended up being. Having played up forward for Claremont in the WAFL, Ridley was drafted in the first round in the 1990 and got off to a roaring start in his first game, kicking four goals straight against Richmond. But his kicking boots betrayed him for the next two games, which along with injuries meant that he didn't play against for the team until round ten in the following year, kicking ten goals in ten games (but eleven behinds). After only appearing in four games in the premiership year of 1993, including the Qualifying Final loss against Carlton, Ridley played mostly in defence in the eight games he played in 1994.
He acquitted himself well enough, despite the injuries, for Fremantle to nab him as an uncontracted player for their first season in the AFL - and has since been part of a somewhat unfair piece of folklore, which generally goes along the lines of 'Fremantle traded for Dale Kickett and a couple of spuds in exchange for Matthew Lloyd and Scott Lucas'. The truth is much more complex than than, and with regards to Ridley, the deal was simply that Ridley would go to Fremantle, and Essendon would receive a compensation pick which they could use of any 16 year old they wanted. Essendon then used this pick to select Matthew Lloyd; there was no way for Fremantle to use that selection. In any case, Ridley went on to have a good first season for the fledgling Dockers, playing 18 games and kicking their first ever goal in the league (pictured above) and earning two Brownlow points on the day. A more difficult 1996 saw him delisted, and given one more try by Hawthorn, whom he played two games for in 1997 before retiring from the AFL and returning to WA.
Instead of playing for Claremont, with whom he won a premiership in 1996, he instead moved to nearby rivals Subiaco, and was the league's top goal-scorer in 1998. Retiring in 2001, Ridley joined the ABC as a WAFL commentator for a time.
Height: 187 cm
Weight: 87 kg
Playing number: 18
Arrived: Drafted with pick 13 in the 1990 AFL draft
Debut: Round 2 vs Richmond, 1991
Games: 25
Goals: 21
Won: WAFL Premiership - 1996
Bernie Naylor Medal - 1998
Departed: Traded to Fremantle as an uncontracted player at the end of the 1994 season
A high flyer who had the versatility to play at either end of the ground, injuries and form meant Todd Ridley never quite reached the next level and will always be remembered best by Essendon fans for the currency he ended up being. Having played up forward for Claremont in the WAFL, Ridley was drafted in the first round in the 1990 and got off to a roaring start in his first game, kicking four goals straight against Richmond. But his kicking boots betrayed him for the next two games, which along with injuries meant that he didn't play against for the team until round ten in the following year, kicking ten goals in ten games (but eleven behinds). After only appearing in four games in the premiership year of 1993, including the Qualifying Final loss against Carlton, Ridley played mostly in defence in the eight games he played in 1994.
He acquitted himself well enough, despite the injuries, for Fremantle to nab him as an uncontracted player for their first season in the AFL - and has since been part of a somewhat unfair piece of folklore, which generally goes along the lines of 'Fremantle traded for Dale Kickett and a couple of spuds in exchange for Matthew Lloyd and Scott Lucas'. The truth is much more complex than than, and with regards to Ridley, the deal was simply that Ridley would go to Fremantle, and Essendon would receive a compensation pick which they could use of any 16 year old they wanted. Essendon then used this pick to select Matthew Lloyd; there was no way for Fremantle to use that selection. In any case, Ridley went on to have a good first season for the fledgling Dockers, playing 18 games and kicking their first ever goal in the league (pictured above) and earning two Brownlow points on the day. A more difficult 1996 saw him delisted, and given one more try by Hawthorn, whom he played two games for in 1997 before retiring from the AFL and returning to WA.
Instead of playing for Claremont, with whom he won a premiership in 1996, he instead moved to nearby rivals Subiaco, and was the league's top goal-scorer in 1998. Retiring in 2001, Ridley joined the ABC as a WAFL commentator for a time.