The following is a copy of statements prepared by Port Adelaide CEO Keith Thomas and player Patrick Ryder for a media call on Wednesday 5 October.

KEITH THOMAS

Good afternoon.

Thank you for attending this media opportunity. Its purpose is for the Port Adelaide Football Club to make a statement about the events of last Sunday morning in the City which involved Port Adelaide’s Paddy Ryder and others.

In a few moments Paddy will make a statement himself.

The Club has been dealing with Paddy and others this week about those events.

We know that Paddy has been charged with hindering police and an assault on a police officer. These allegations are being taken seriously by both Paddy and the Club.

The Club fully supports Paddy and completely respects his right to defend these allegations and allow all relevant matters to be fully and properly ventilated during the court proceedings. We eagerly await the resolution of these allegations in a court of law and we do not intend to engage in any trial by the media or discuss any of the evidence. This can all wait for the court process.

We are well aware that some of the media stories this week have been incorrect, unbalanced and not based upon a true and complete picture of the events. This has been unfair and has had a negative impact on Paddy and his family, and on the Club too.

This will be rectified in due course when all of the evidence will be dealt with in the court process.

Neither the Club nor Paddy will be responding to any questions now or until the conclusion of the court proceedings.

I will now ask Paddy to say a few words.

Thank you.

PADDY RYDER

Last weekend I was charged by police with hindering police and an assault on a police officer.

I think it’s unfortunate that the information given to the public so far by the media falls a long way short of the full picture.

But there is nothing I can do about that at the moment other than to ask people not to judge me yet and to allow me to deal with this in the right way.

I look forward to the opportunity to deal with these allegations in court.

I respect the legal process and I will not say any more publicly until the case is over.

As Keith Thomas said a few moments ago, I will not be answering any questions about these matters until the case is over. So I ask you to respect the legal process in the same way that we here at the Club are doing.

I wish to thank everyone who has offered me and my family their support this week.

It is really appreciated.