Luke Ryan did not have the fantasy hype of teammate Hayden Young going into season 2024, but he has turned out to be the right choice if you were going to buy a defender from Fremantle in early going. While Young has struggled with disposal quality and role in central midfield, Ryan has continued on the way he has over a number of years now, staying back as the deepest backman and being often used on rebound as Justin Longmuir doesn't seem to mind how slow the ball moves out of the back third. The only query is whether Brennan Cox's injury means a role change.
Luke Ryan did not have the fantasy hype of teammate Hayden Young going into season 2024, but he has turned out to be the right choice if you were going to buy a defender from Fremantle in early going. While Young has struggled with disposal quality and role in central midfield, Ryan has continued on the way he has over a number of years now, staying back as the deepest backman and being often used on rebound as Justin Longmuir doesn't seem to mind how slow the ball moves out of the back third. The only query is whether Brennan Cox's injury means a role change.
The west's other flying Ryan
An effective distributor from half back, Luke Ryan's star continues to ascend. The 2016 mature-aged draftee improved his disposal and metres gained outputs, while registering the 18th most rebound 50s across the competition. Entering his fourth season, Ryan's stocks are likely to rise further. A reliable rebounder entrenched in the best 22, he ticks many boxes when fantasy coaches search for a defensive acquisition. Pick him in middle rounds.
Luke Ryan has been groomed for a few years now to replace Michael Johnson at CHB and, after a delayed start this season to make sure his problematic foot was healthy, he has done just that. As with all CHBs his primary responsibility is to stop the opposition's focal point, but like many of his contemporaries he can tend to get involved a lot in uncontested marking as his side dawdles on how to get the ball into attack. This has made him a popular and cheap target in salary cap competitions, though starting him might be too risky week to week if you can avoid it.
Ryan to kick on?
Coming into 2018 with a history of handball-happiness, Luke Ryan added an extra two kicks per game to his repertoire but leveled out in his second season due to a decline in tackles. He rolled out six fantasy tons, and was given the loose man role on a handful of occasions. He wears the seagull label proudly, often getting involved in kick-to-kick plays. Ryan shared kick-in duties with Nathan Wilson for the Dockers, but had an extremely low play-on percentage compared to other teams. The new rule removing the requirement to kick to themselves will create an immediate jump in Ryan’s stats and could push his possession tallies regularly into the 20s. Draft him with a pick in the earlier middle rounds.
Ryan is a red baron
The roller coaster of Luke Ryan's performances in his first year started quietly in the WAFL as he got over some early knocks, shot up in March with his disposal count reaching 30 in game five, then built again in the ones and peaked with 14 and 16 marks in July/August, plus the Simpson Medal for best afield in Peel's back-to-back WAFL flag. Ryan took the spot of Garrick Ibbotson as the seventh defender, and showed that he can float across to intercept mark as well as anyone in the league when conditions are right. The fact that he followed those two big games with quiet ones against the well-organised attacks of Sydney and Richmond suggests he might be a match-up play. On average and upside, he's a middle-round pick.
