ST KILDA veteran Paddy Ryder is expected to play on into a 17th season after being offered a new one-year contract.
The ruckman has had a late-career resurgence with the Saints after arriving from Port Adelaide at the end of 2019 and will soon confirm his one-year extension as reported by AFL.com.au.
Ryder, 33, has still had injuries in his two seasons at Moorabbin but St Kilda has been far more formidable opponents when he has played, winning 15 of those 26 matches.
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"He's been offered (a one-year deal) for a while now through his management," Saints coach Brett Ratten said.
"Touch wood he wants to play; when players are getting older, it's not just about us wanting them to play, it's whether they have got the motivation to play.
"It looks pretty promising... he'll be pretty close to signing hopefully."
Ryder, who has played 269 games, and young star Rowan Marshall have formed an electric ruck partnership and their combination was vital in St Kilda playing finals last year for the first time since 2011.
But the future is not as clear at St Kilda for Ryder's former Essendon teammate Jake Carlisle.
Playing just four games this season, the 29-year-old is not expected to be offered a new contract with the Saints.
Ratten said the club would not be making any list announcements until after their final round match against Fremantle in Hobart on Sunday.
"(Carlisle) has got his exit meeting coming up and with some of these older players we probably need to have conversations around what does it look for them next year, and for us as well," Ratten said.
Meanwhile, the Saints will take no chances with star forward Max King, who will sit out the clash with the Dockers due to an adductor injury.
Darragh Joyce will miss the match after suffering a concussion from a Tom Hawkins tackle, which the Geelong forward was cleared of any wrongdoing, during last Saturday's 14-point loss against the Cats.
