Star Essendon defender Jordan Ridley reportedly dropped a bombshell at his exit meeting by “raising the prospect of a trade” — and he has the reigning premiers in mind as a destination.

Ridley is contracted through the 2029 season, but according to Nine’s Tom Morris on Sunday, the prolific intercept defender wants out of the Bombers, desiring a move to the Brisbane Lions.

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Morris reported that Ridley, a club champion but injury-riddled in recent seasons, had grown “frustrated” with the club’s injury management.

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And while the Bombers are said to have “shut down” Ridley’s request, Morris adds that the backman’s long-term contract “won’t stop him” from attempting to move clubs this October.

“He raised the prospect of a trade in his exit meeting last week, and it was shut down,” Morris wrote on social media platform X on Sunday afternoon.

“This long-term deal won’t stop him trying to move. The 2020 best and fairest has been frustrated at the club’s injury management, and he has family connections in Queensland.”

The Bombers finished their cursed campaign with a staggering 16 players in their casualty ward, including 14 who’d suffered season-ending injuries throughout the course of the year.

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The 26-year-old Ridley, who has been the victim of persistent hamstring injuries, played just 10 AFL games this year after nine in 2024.

Disappointingly, he hasn’t managed to play more than 20 senior matches in a season since 2022.

The 2016 second-round pick’s best season came in 2020, when he played all 17 games of the COVID-affected campaign to win a Crichton Medal and be selected to the All-Australian squad.

If Ridley was able to force his way to the Lions, it’d be yet another major recruiting coup for the 2024 flag-winners, who’ve already informally secured Oscar Allen’s services and are one of the front-runners to sign fellow Bomber Sam Draper.

Ridley could slot in seamlessly next to triple All-Australian defender Harris Andrews, particularly if free agent Brandon Starcevich departs this off-season.

Allen, meanwhile, is set to fill the spearhead void left by Joe Daniher and form a long-term partnership with burgeoning key target Logan Morris, while Draper would replenish the club’s ruck department amid Oscar McInerney’s ongoing back issue.

Then there’s exciting Academy-linked draft prospect Daniel Annable, who the Lions are expected to match a rival bid for within the top five picks this November.

After just 26 senior games, he became the third least-experienced player in the club’s history to win its best and fairest.