Essendon has a fight on its hands to retain the services of improving key position player Ted Richards, after he informed the club he wishes to play elsewhere in 2006. Richards is currently on the players’ end-of-season trip where a number of club officials and players have spoken to him in a bid to get him to re-consider his decision.

Richards, 22, was taken by Essendon with selection 27 at the 2000 National Draft as a 17-year-old and has played 33 senior games since making his debut in 2002. Richards, who stands 194cm, has attracted the interest of a number of opposition clubs, in particular the Sydney Swans and the Western Bulldogs.

""Obviously it is disappointing that Ted sees his future elsewhere,"" Essendon recruiting manager Adrian Dodoro said today. ""We picked him up as a 17-year-old and we have put a lot of time and effort into getting him to the stage where we think he is ready to really make his mark at senior level.""

""There has been a lot of interest in him from other clubs and that is hardly surprising given he is one of the few emerging key position players in the competition. But we will continue to work with him and see if there is some way if getting him to re-assess his decision.""

AFL Trade Week commences today (Monday, October 3rd) and runs through until Friday, October 7th. All trades need to have been completed and lodged with the AFL by 2pm.