http://m.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/ano ... 0r1mw.htmlAnother Bomber wants out; Jason Winderlich wants to play on with Tigers
October 6, 2014 - 8:16PM
By EMMA QUAYLE
EXCLUSIVE
Jason Winderlich has asked Essendon to release him from his contract for next season so that he can play on with Richmond.
Winderlich, who announced his retirement late in the season and played out the year in rejuvenated form, has received an offer from the Tigers to continue his career there.
Like Paddy Ryder, who has asked the Bombers to trade him to Port Adelaide, Winderlich has asked the the club to allow him a fresh start elsewhere as he nears the end of his career.
It is understood that the 29-year-old did not participate in the club's supplements program and is not among the players to have received a show cause notice, but that he believes he only has a year or two left in his body and would like to play out his career in a less uncertain environment.
Winderlich triggered a contract extension with the Bombers this year, and consequently did not appear on the list of unrestricted free agents distributed to clubs recently.
It means Richmond would have to trade for him, or that Essendon could release him from the contract extension and allow him to join the Tigers with more ease.
In that scenario Essendon – currently restricted to picks 20, 50 and 68 in the national draft because of the club's draft penalties – would receive compensation for Winderlich's departure.
A life member and much-loved player at Essendon, Winderlich's contractual situation is similar to that faced by Nick Dal Santo, North Melbourne and St Kilda at the end of last season.
Dal Santo triggered a contract extension to remain at the Saints at the end of the 2013 season, but the club agreed to release him from that contract so that he could join North.
The Bombers again met with Port Adelaide on Monday, but moved no closer to negotiating a deal that would allow Ryder to join the Power next year.
There is a strong chance the Ryder case may end up at the AFL's grievance tribunal, where Ryder would argue the Bombers breached their duty of care in exposing him to the supplements program that has seen 34 players issued with show-cause notices.
Port Adelaide is offering its first-round draft pick, but Essendon has said it wants an established senior player in return for the 26-year-old ruckman who finished seventh in the club's best and fairest.
The club has unsuccessfully inquired after a handful of Power players, and also asked the club to try and involve a third team, and a top-quality midfielder, in the trade.
Essendon's problem is that no other club can see how it could talk an established, contracted player into signing on with the Bombers given the current uncertain environment there.
In other news, midfielder Elliott Kavanagh has told the Bombers he may examine other options, having struggled to break into the senior side in his three years there.
However the club - which has been able to re-sign the majority of its players in the past two years despite its ongoing troubles - hopes to soon finalise a deal with onballer Ben Howlett.
Winderlich has played 128 games in 12 years and overcome a number of major setbacks in his time with the Bombers, including a career-threatening back problem, a knee reconstruction and numerous soft tissue injuries.
"I've enjoyed every single minute during my time here at Essendon," he said when announcing his retirement in August.
"I would have been honoured to play the one game, so to pull on the jumper for 12 years has been an absolute privilege."
Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2014 8:16 pm