Crossword Genius

Ward off offender in fonder offending (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

forfend

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'ward off' is the definition.
(I know that ward off can be written as forfend)

'offender in fonder offending' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
an anagram of 'fonder' is 'orfend' which is present in the answer.
A single letter 'f' remains which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Another definition for forfend that I've seen is " Prevent".)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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