It hasn’t come easy, but Luke Ryan has reliased his AFLdream after being snapped up by Fremantle with pick 66 at the NAB AFL Draft on Friday night.
The 20-year-old comes to Fremantle as one of the highest rated mature age recruits from this year’s draft pool. One pre-draft profile predicted Ryan to go between picks 19 to 50 at the National Draft, citing a recruiter who rated the Victorian as the best current player in the VFL, WAFL and SANFL.
At pick 66, this intercept marking defender could turn out to be a steal for Fremantle’s recruiting team.
“I’m over the moon, and feeling extremely lucky to be heading to Freo,” Ryan said.
“I was at home sitting on the couch, and when my name was called my family all jumped on me. When mum cried it really hit me.”
While Ryan comes to Fremantle as a product of Coburg in the VFL, his first crack at landing a spot on an AFL list came while playing with the Calder Cannons in 2014.
Juggling football while working long hours as an apprentice carpenter, Ryan found himself unable to give his all, sometimes falling asleep as his dad drove him to training.
A return to local football in 2015 rekindled Ryan’s love for the game, and when he secured a place with Coburg for 2016, he took the opportunity with both hands.
In his first game against Box Hill, Ryan racked up 29 disposals, eight intercept marks and kicked at 87 per cent efficiency.
Despite a season hampered with shoulder and ankle injuries,
Ryan went on to win the Fothergill-Round Medal, the same award won by Michael Barlow in 2009, as the best player under 23 in the VFL.
Ryan credited a new mindset to his meteoric rise, going from local footy to an AFL listed player in the space of a year.
“It was my fault for leaving the Cannons in the early years,” Ryan said.
“(My improvement) has come down to my maturity. Being a grown up, a 20-year old.
“Now I’m that little bit older, a move to WA won’t affect me either. If I can have the chance to play footy at AFL level I am happy anywhere.”
In Ryan, Fremantle is looking at a courageous team player with an elite kick to boot.
“I always want to give 100 per cent when I cross that white line,” Ryan said.
“I’ll put my body on the line and wants to get a win for the boys…I’ll do anything to help the team out as much as possible.”
