Ryan Tandy Found Dead[/b]
Police were called to the home in Saratoga at about 2pm yesterday, after receiving a report that the 32-year-old rugby league front-rower, who played for a number of leading clubs and appeared in one grand final, had died.
Tandy had been living in the house with his mother as part of his bail conditions after being charged in January with allegedly acting as hired muscle in a kidnapping over a drug debt. He spent several nights in prison at the time after struggling to find a $2000 surety imposed by the court, a further fall from grace after being convicted of match fixing during an NRL game in 2010. Friends and former colleagues, including those from the five clubs he played with during his career, yesterday expressed their shock and sense of regret over the death, which police said was not being treated as suspicious. Tandy was part of the Melbourne Storm team that won the 2009 NRL grand final against Parramatta, only to have the title declared invalid after the club’s salary cap scandal a year later.
Tandy’s former manager, Sam Ayoub, last night said Tandy had been deeply proud to have played in the game. I remember catching up with him straight after the game. He told me it was the highlight of his life, Ayoub said. Everyone that knows him would say the same thing he was an upfront bloke; you knew where you stood with him. Tandy’s former coach at the Melbourne Storm, Craig Bellamy, and last night said many of his players had been shocked at the news. As a coach you expect to go first, not your players, and definitely not someone who won a grand finale with you just four years ago, he said.
Tandy, who also played with St George Illawarra, South Sydney, Wests Tigers and Canterbury, was banned from the game after being convicted of match fixing while with Bulldogs during a game against the North Queensland Cowboys in 2010. An investigation was launched after regulators noticed a betting plunge on the game and, despite pleading not guilty, Tandy was convicted of spot-fixing, fined and placed on a good behaviour bond. Earlier this year, he again appeared in court where police alleged he was one of a group who kidnapped another man outside a central coast club and held him overnight before driving him to a bank to demand he withdraw money. The court was told the alleged victim feared for his life and used his mobile telephone to send a message to his family asking them to say goodbye to his son. Tandy’s solicitor at the time said the prop would fight the charges.
Police were called to the home in Saratoga at about 2pm yesterday, after receiving a report that the 32-year-old rugby league front-rower, who played for a number of leading clubs and appeared in one grand final, had died.
Tandy had been living in the house with his mother as part of his bail conditions after being charged in January with allegedly acting as hired muscle in a kidnapping over a drug debt. He spent several nights in prison at the time after struggling to find a $2000 surety imposed by the court, a further fall from grace after being convicted of match fixing during an NRL game in 2010. Friends and former colleagues, including those from the five clubs he played with during his career, yesterday expressed their shock and sense of regret over the death, which police said was not being treated as suspicious. Tandy was part of the Melbourne Storm team that won the 2009 NRL grand final against Parramatta, only to have the title declared invalid after the club’s salary cap scandal a year later.
Tandy’s former manager, Sam Ayoub, last night said Tandy had been deeply proud to have played in the game. I remember catching up with him straight after the game. He told me it was the highlight of his life, Ayoub said. Everyone that knows him would say the same thing he was an upfront bloke; you knew where you stood with him. Tandy’s former coach at the Melbourne Storm, Craig Bellamy, and last night said many of his players had been shocked at the news. As a coach you expect to go first, not your players, and definitely not someone who won a grand finale with you just four years ago, he said.
Tandy, who also played with St George Illawarra, South Sydney, Wests Tigers and Canterbury, was banned from the game after being convicted of match fixing while with Bulldogs during a game against the North Queensland Cowboys in 2010. An investigation was launched after regulators noticed a betting plunge on the game and, despite pleading not guilty, Tandy was convicted of spot-fixing, fined and placed on a good behaviour bond. Earlier this year, he again appeared in court where police alleged he was one of a group who kidnapped another man outside a central coast club and held him overnight before driving him to a bank to demand he withdraw money. The court was told the alleged victim feared for his life and used his mobile telephone to send a message to his family asking them to say goodbye to his son. Tandy’s solicitor at the time said the prop would fight the charges.