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Liam Ryan (footballer)

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Liam Ryan
Ryan playing for West Coast in July 2019
Personal information
Full name Liam Ryan
Nickname(s) Flyin' Ryan[1]
Date of birth (1996-10-02) 2 October 1996 (age 28)
Original team(s) Subiaco (WAFL)
Draft No. 26, 2017 national draft
Debut Round 1, 2018, West Coast vs. Sydney, at Optus Stadium
Height 179 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight 72 kg (159 lb)
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current club West Coast
Number 1
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2018– West Coast 105 (136)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of season 2024.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Liam Ryan (born 2 October 1996) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the West Coast Eagles in the Australian Football League (AFL). He is a small forward who is known widely for his vertical leap and high-marking ability.

Early life and junior football

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Ryan is from Geraldton, Western Australia. His father Darren "Snotty" Ryan played WAFL football for Claremont. Ryan began his football career with Rovers in the Great Northern Football League (GNFL). In 2016 he moved to Perth to play for the Subiaco Football Club in the West Australian Football League (WAFL).[2] Beginning in the reserves, he was moved up to the seniors after only four games, and subsequently kicked 40 goals from 16 senior games. In the 2017 WAFL season, Ryan won the Bernie Naylor Medal as the competition's leading goal-kicker. He kicked 73 goals from 23 games.[3][4]

AFL career

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Early career: 2018-2019

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2018: First season and premiership

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After his remarkable form in the WAFL in 2017 as a 21-year-old, Ryan was drafted into the AFL by West Coast with their third selection and twenty-sixth overall in the 2017 national draft.[5] Ryan continued his form into his first preseason at the club, and was selected to make his AFL debut in the game versus Sydney at Optus Stadium in the opening round of the 2018 season. On debut, he kicked his first AFL goal along with nine disposals.[6]

Ryan was selected to play the following week and kicked six goals in the next two matches at AFL level, before injuring his ankle while kicking a final quarter goal during the Round 3 match against Geelong. The injury was predicted to keep Ryan out for the following 12 weeks.[7]

Upon his return from injury in the Round 13 clash against Sydney, Ryan struggled to recapture his early season form, only kicking two goals in his first three games returning from injury. His brief return to the side, however, came to an end when he was hospitalised after crashing his car into a tree in the early morning on 2 July.[8] Ryan missed the following week of football, and was handed a two-match suspension by the club.[9] Ryan subsequently played the next week in the WAFL, with senior coach Adam Simpson later revealing he had been under the influence of alcohol when he crashed his car.[10]

His first WAFL game since being drafted saw Ryan kick three goals for East Perth against Swan Districts in Round 15 of the state competition. Ryan played the next two WAFL games, and despite only kicking a combined two goals in those next two games, he was recalled to the AFL side for the Round 20 Western Derby against Fremantle.

His return to the senior side saw a resurgence in form to finish the 2018 season, kicking three goals upon his return against Fremantle, and holding his spot in the team heading into the 2018 Finals Series. Ryan kicked three goals in the first two finals, which was enough to hold his spot heading into the 2018 Grand Final against Collingwood. Just two days before the Grand Final, it was announced that Ryan had been charged with drink driving over the car crash earlier that year in July, with a court date set for October 8.[11]

Ryan had a mixed start to the Grand Final, sending Collingwood defender Brayden Maynard sprawling after a fierce bump,[12] before dropping a relatively simple chest mark 50 metres out from goal, and missing in front of goal twice in the second half. However, Ryan was able to redeem himself from his previous mistakes, when he took a strong pack mark with two minutes to go in the game, played on and kicked the ball inside 50 to Dom Sheed in the forward pocket.[13] Sheed would go on to kick the goal and give the Eagles the lead they needed to win the 2018 premiership, seeing Ryan finish his first AFL season with a premiership to his name.

Ryan faced the Armadale Magistrates Court on 8 October, pleading guilty to a charge of driving with a blood alcohol reading exceeding 0.08. As a result, Ryan was fined $1700 and had his drivers license suspended for 18 months.[14]

Upon the beginning of the following preseason in November, Ryan left a three-day training camp in the Stirling Range National Park early. Senior coach Adam Simpson was quick to downplay the significance of the issue, stating while "Liam [Ryan] struggled," he was "not too stressed" about it.[15]

2019: Building consistency and Mark of the Year

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Ryan enjoyed an uninterrupted preseason following the 2018 season and was selected in the Round 1 side to face Brisbane, where he managed 8 disposals, 6 tackles and a goal. In the aftermath of the game, Ryan was attacked on social media with racial abuse where he was referred to as a "monkey".[16] The club strongly condemned the comments, releasing a video on X (then known as Twitter) taking a stand against racism.[17]

Ryan built into some consistent form to start the season, kicking seven goals through Rounds 1-10 and averaging 11.0 disposals and 3.0 tackles a game - up on his tackling average of 1.9 in 2018. In Round 9 against Melbourne, Ryan took a spectacular mark in the goal square on top of Demons ruck Max Gawn.[18] The mark would end up being voted Mark of the Year for the 2019 AFL season.[19]

Personal life

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Ryan and his partner Evana, have one daughter and two twin boys.[20]

Statistics

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Statistics are correct to the end of round 8, 2022[21]
Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2018# West Coast 1 13 20 15 113 37 150 37 25 1.5 1.2 8.7 2.8 11.5 2.8 1.9 0
2019 West Coast 1 24 30 19 211 70 281 72 51 1.3 0.8 8.8 2.9 11.7 3.0 2.1 0
2020[a] West Coast 1 18 26 16 140 54 194 66 32 1.4 0.9 7.8 3.0 10.8 3.7 1.8 1
2021 West Coast 1 14 24 10 116 28 144 55 21 1.7 0.7 8.3 2.0 10.3 3.9 1.5 2
2022 West Coast 1 7 11 6 59 10 69 26 13 1.6 0.9 8.4 1.4 9.9 3.7 1.9 TBA
Career 76 111 66 639 199 838 256 142 1.5 0.9 8.4 2.6 11.0 3.4 1.9 3

Notes

  1. ^ The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

References

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  1. ^ King, Travis (14 July 2018). "Flyin' Ryan fails to fire in WAFL return". afl.com.au. Retrieved 14 August 2018.
  2. ^ West Coast Eagles’ Liam Ryan ready to make one big leap in AFL debut
  3. ^ "Liam Ryan WAFL statistics". Archived from the original on 10 November 2018. Retrieved 3 April 2018.
  4. ^ High-flying WAFL star ready for next leap to AFL
  5. ^ McArdle, Jordan (24 November 2017). "AFL draft: High-flying Subiaco forward Liam Ryan becomes a West Coast Eagle". The West Australian. Seven West Media. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  6. ^ Robinson, Chris (23 March 2018). "West Coast Eagles to blood three debutants for first time since 1996". The West Australian. Seven West Media. Retrieved 26 March 2018.
  7. ^ "Eagle Liam Ryan sidelined for three months". SBS News. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  8. ^ "Eagles helping Liam Ryan after car crash". The West Australian. 2 July 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  9. ^ Prestipino, David (27 September 2018). "Eagles forward Liam Ryan charged with drink driving on eve of grand final". WAtoday. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  10. ^ Dennis, Georgie (11 July 2018). "The truth behind Liam Ryan's car crash". Zero Hanger. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  11. ^ Prestipino, David (27 September 2018). "Eagles forward Liam Ryan charged with drink driving on eve of grand final". WAtoday. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  12. ^ "WATCH: Flyin' Ryan's bone-crunching bump". The West Australian. 29 September 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  13. ^ Lalor, Peter (29 September 2018). "AFL 2018 Grand Final: Redemption for West Coast's Liam Ryan". The Age. Archived from the original on 15 February 2023. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  14. ^ "Drunken crash ends in driving ban for Eagles forward, less than two weeks after AFL glory". ABC News. 9 October 2018. Retrieved 15 February 2023.
  15. ^ Phelan, Jason (3 December 2018). "AFL news: Liam Ryan leaves gruelling West Coast Eagles pre-season camp early". AAP (via Fox Sports). Archived from the original on 19 June 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  16. ^ Wildie, Tom (25 March 2019). "West Coast Eagles forward Liam Ryan cops racist comments on Instagram after AFL report". ABC. Archived from the original on 19 June 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  17. ^ @WestCoastEagles (26 March 2019). "We're taking a stand against racism. We need your support. Learn, share and start a conversation" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  18. ^ "West Coast Eagles forward Liam Ryan puts in Mark of the Year contender". The West Australian. 17 May 2019. Archived from the original on 19 June 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  19. ^ Dickinson, Rhys (23 September 2019). "Ryan wins Mark of the Year!". West Coast Eagles. Archived from the original on 19 June 2024. Retrieved 19 June 2024.
  20. ^ "West Coast Eagles star Liam Ryan shares baby joy at twin boys' arrival". The West Australian. 26 November 2019.
  21. ^ "AFL Tables - Liam Ryan - Stats - Statistics". afltables.com. Retrieved 4 February 2021.
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