Luke Ryan is set to be a one club player with Fremantle after signing a four-year contract extension.
The 2020 All Australian defender’s deal is on top of the one year remaining on his current contract, meaning he will be in purple until at least 2027.
A mature age recruit selected at no.66 at the 2016 National Draft, Ryan is a part of the same draft class as Sean Darcy and Brennan Cox.
The 26-year-old said he’s loving life in WA and the lure to return to Victoria wasn’t enough due to his strong desire to bring success to Freo.
“It’s an unbelievable feeling, I owe this Club a lot. If it wasn’t for Freo, I wouldn’t have been drafted,” Ryan said.
“I’m going to give everything I can to give back to this great Club and hopefully be one of the first to lift up that cup.
“There were a lot of phone calls going back and forth between my Mum and Dad, seeing what they thought and they said straight away that Freo was the best Club for me.
“I’ve called this place home for seven years and I’ll call it home for the rest of my life.”
With 109 games to his name, he is the eighth-most experienced player on Fremantle’s list.
The versatile intercepting defender will be a key cog in a backline that Ryan hopes will be together for a long time.
He is already joined by Hayden Young and Heath Chapman on long-term deals, with the pair also committed until at least 2027.
“We want everyone to sign on,” Ryan said.
“Seeing what the Club is doing, how we’re going and how young we are…there’s a buzz around the group.
“Everyone wants to be here for a long time and we’re looking forward to what we can do.
“Coxy (Brennan Cox) had an unbelievable year last year, Moose (Alex Pearce) is our leader, Youngy, Chappy, Brandon Walker, Clarky (Jordan Clark), they’re in their early 20s. There’s exciting times ahead for us.”
Head of Player Personnel David Walls was thrilled to see Ryan commit his future to Fremantle.
“This contract will take Luke into his early 30s, so it essentially makes him a Docker for life,” Walls said.
“We’re rapt as he’s one of our top-line A-grade players, an All Australian and a Doig Medallist. He’s in his prime and playing his best footy with a lot of good footy to come.
“He’s a player that everyone loves playing with. You hear it so many times from our guys, they love running out alongside him and if anything happens out on the field, he’s the first one to fly the flag for a teammate.
“He’s durable, played a lot of footy, he’s consistent and we’re looking forward to having him in the backline for another five years.”
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