Defender Luke Ryan continued his outstanding 2020 season to date, winning the Goodes-O’Loughlin Medal as the best on ground in Fremantle’s 31-point win against Sydney at Optus Stadium on Saturday night.
As is a Sydney Swans tradition, they played for the Marn Grook Trophy and the Goodes-O’Loughlin Medal as a part of Sir Doug Nicholls Round, with Fremantle playing in the game for the first time.
Ryan became the first non-Sydney player to win the award named after Swans legends Adam Goodes and Michael O’Loughlin, joining Tom Mitchell (2016), Lance Franklin (2017), Isaac Heeney (2018) and Sam Reid (2019).
The award was announced at the ground by Doig Medal winner Troy Cook, who played for both Fremantle and Sydney.
“Obviously it’s a real privilege to win the medal,” Ryan said.
“Sir Doug Nicholls Round is such a special round for the club and for the whole AFL. To win that was pretty special and my mum will probably take the medal home (to Melbourne).
“We’ve got a rich history of Indigenous players and it’s massive for the club and the AFL. We’ve got a few boys running out there who are Indigenous and they put on a show and we got the chocolates for them.
“It’s a great feeling after the disappointing loss last week.”
