St Kilda ruckman Paddy Ryder hits back at racist troll after shocking Twitter post

AFL stars have quickly joined Paddy Ryder in condemning a racist social media post directed at the ruckman after St Kilda’s loss to Adelaide.

The Saints coughed up a six-goal lead to the Crows on Saturday night in a defeat that effectively ended their slim finals hopes.

Ryder’s quick kick in an attempt to clear the ball from a stoppage in the final stages unluckily bounced off a teammate and fell into the arms of Adelaide youngster Riley Thilthorpe, who kicked the winning goal.

After the match, a Twitter user who claimed to be a Gold Coast Suns fan posted: “now there’s something for Blacky Ryder to be depressed about”.

The Twitter user added the official AFL match hashtag - #AFLSaintsCrows - in the tweet from an account which has since been deleted.

Ryder, an Indigenous man from Geraldton in Western Australia, took time away from football earlier this year to deal with personal issues.

He returned in round seven and has played each of St Kilda’s past seven matches.

The 33-year-old took to Twitter on Sunday to call out the racist post.

“Don’t be racist and don’t joke about depression please,” Ryder posted.

He also told the offender to “grow up”.

Geelong star and AFL Players’ Association president Patrick Dangerfield posted a screenshot of the tweet on Instagram with the caption: “You racist f#cking pig.”

Hawthorn’s Indigenous veteran Shaun Burgoyne is among a growing list of AFL stars who have brought light to the racist post.

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It is the latest in a long list of racist attacks on AFL stars by social media users.

Carlton’s Eddie Betts, West Coast’s Liam Ryan and Melbourne’s Neville Jetta have all been targeted in recent years.