Finally at peace with the Essendon supplements scandal, Port Adelaide's prized recruit Paddy Ryder feels ready to make a lasting impression on his new AFL club.
Ryder was one of 34 players on Essendon's 2012 list who were cleared by the AFL's anti-doping tribunal of wrongdoing.
The ruckman left the Bombers because of the controversy and says he's gradually building momentum in his first season at Port Adelaide.
"Coming here is making my peace with it," Ryder told reporters at Port's Alberton base on Tuesday.
"I'm very happy here and just look forward to playing footy now.
"It (the tribunal verdict) has been good for everyone involved and we can just get on with our footy now and not worry about any of the annoying stuff."
Ryder, prevented from playing any pre-season games while awaiting the March verdict of the anti-doping tribunal, says his form has been building in the premiership season.
"I feel like I can have a lot more impact on the games," he said.
"I was a bit nervous to start but as you start playing games with the boys ... you start fitting in.
"It has been pretty easy to fit in. As long as you do the hard work and really get amongst the boys, they really welcome you."
Ryder is forming an enviable ruck combination with Port's leading tap-man Matthew Lobbe but said the duo faced a stiff challenge this Sunday against West Coast's Nic Naitanui.
"When he's up and about, which he is at the moment, he's pretty hard to stop," Ryder said of the key Eagle.
"Everyone has their weaknesses though so we'll try and find what that is in Nic Nat and really attack him.
"If he is able to jump at everything that he likes, then he's going to step on everyone's heads. So we have got to be smart about what we do and just really attack him in a fair way."
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