Buti's Call: Eagles livewire Liam Ryan keeps leaping from challenge to challenge

We’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.

Advertisement

This was published 4 years ago

Opinion

Buti's Call: Eagles livewire Liam Ryan keeps leaping from challenge to challenge

By Tony Buti

Let’s talk about Liam Ryan, the livewire 22-year-old small forward for reigning AFL premiers West Coast.

Ryan was drafted by the Eagles with their third selection and number 26 overall in the 2017 national draft. He had come off a successful season with Subiaco in the WAFL, winning the Bernie Naylor Medal as the competition's leading goalkicker, finishing with 73 for the season.

Ryan’s father, Darren, had enjoyed a successful WAFL career with Claremont.

West Coast's livewire forward Liam Ryan has overcome much adversity in his short AFL career to date.

West Coast's livewire forward Liam Ryan has overcome much adversity in his short AFL career to date.Credit: AAP

His son debuted with the Lions in 2016 after arriving from Geraldton, where he played with the local Rovers Football Club in the Great Northern Football League. After only four games in the Subiaco reserves, he was promoted to the league side.

He played 16 senior matches in his first WAFL season, kicking 40 goals and building a reputation as a high-marking, classy half-forward ... a goal-sneak with impressive forward defensive pressure.

In November 2017, not long after being drafted by the Eagles and commencement of preseason training, I met Ryan at the graduation and awards ceremony of the Clontarf Academy program at Cecil Andrews Senior High School (now called Cecil Andrews Academy) in Seville Grove.

The Clontarf Academy, administered by the Clontarf Foundation, is the brainchild of Gerard Neesham, former champion WAFL player and coach who had a short stint with South Melbourne in the VFL and was the inaugural coach of the Fremantle Dockers.

The Clontarf Foundation seeks to improve the education, employment and life opportunities of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander men. Since opening its first academy in 2000, the Foundation now caters for more than 6,500 boys in 97 schools across Western Australia, Northern Territory, Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland.

Football is used as an instrument to engage students in education, employment, healthy lifestyles and life skills. Many have gone on to play AFL, including current players such as Fremantle’s Joel Hamling, Carlton’s Sam Petrovski-Seton and Ryan. But the focus of the academy is to improve student’s school attendance rates and equip them to participate meaningfully in society.

Advertisement

Ryan is a former student at the Geraldton High School Clontarf Academy.

Of his own volition - not as part of any community duties he had with the Subiaco Football Club or his new AFL club - Ryan attended several early morning training sessions with young students at Cecil Andrews, encouraging them to try their best and stressing the importance of attending training and school. It was obvious by the way the students reacted to his presence at the graduation and awards ceremony they were chuffed Ryan was showing interest in them.

The 22-year-old is a shy, humble, young man.

Ryan relaxing with his daughter River just weeks after helping the Eagles to a premiership.

Ryan relaxing with his daughter River just weeks after helping the Eagles to a premiership.Credit: Instagram

I asked him how pre-season training was going. He said it was demanding but appreciated the need to be in prime physical condition to tackle the rigours of playing in the AFL. He said he was actually enjoying the intensive sessions.

I could sense a steely determination he wanted to make the most of the opportunity West Coast had given him. He understood the challenge before him but did not appear daunted by it.

So far Ryan has been up to the challenge. He made his AFL debut in round one last season against Sydney at Optus Stadium and, even though he spent some of the season sidelined with injury, he managed 13 games, 20 goals and was a member of the club's victorious 2018 premiership team.

In the epic five-point Grand Final win against Collingwood, Ryan - not known for his physicality - laid a crunching hip-and-shoulder bump on powerful Pies defender Brayden Maynard during the second quarter. This after coming off the ground in the first term with a rolled ankle.

In the third quarter he had a forgettable moment, pulling out of a marking contest. But he had a memorable one in the tense game's final minutes, when he took a towering mark over a pack and played on quickly, passing to Dom Sheed, who kicked the match-winner to secure the club's fourth AFL flag.

Ryan went into the premiership decider only a couple days after drink driving charges against him were made public. The charges emanated from an incident earlier that year in July when he crashed his car into a tree in Armadale, near the home he was sharing with his partner and young daughter River. The Eagles banned him for two games shortly after the incident.

When questioned by the media on grand final eve about the incident, Ryan said it was not a distraction for him. He was focused solely on playing and thanked his teammates, particularly Josh Kennedy and Lewis Jetta for helping "straighten me up".

The week after the grand final, a court imposed a $1700 fine on Ryan and disqualified him from driving for 18 months.

'Leapin' Liam marked well at the death of the 2018 decider then found Dom Sheed who kicked the sealer.

'Leapin' Liam marked well at the death of the 2018 decider then found Dom Sheed who kicked the sealer.Credit: Joe Armao

Unfortunately, only days after the court sanction and while still celebrating the 2018 premiership with his family and friends, Ryan was involved in a domestic violence investigation after an incident outside a Kalbarri motel. Ryan was issued with a move-on notice by the police.

The Eagles released a statement saying it "remains cognisant of Liam's health and wellbeing and will work closely with him to ensure those considerations are prioritised."

Hopefully the club and others also provided support for the 20-year-old female involved in the domestic violence probe.

No charges flowed from the police investigation and Ryan has played all seven games for West Coast in 2019. With the absence of good friend and fellow small forward Willie Rioli through a serious foot injury, Ryan has taken more responsibility and attention from opposition defenders.

His performances so far have been solid in a team that has suffered three heavy losses from seven games. One of the losses, the first against the Lions at the Gabba, was a mixed one for Ryan.

He commenced the game lively and in the first term split the middle with a drop punt from the boundary. He was in the Eagles best players but in the dying minutes of the game was involved in an incident with Brisbane’s Darcy Gardiner, which resulted in Ryan being charged with striking. His action was seemingly in retaliation for Gardiner’s forceful attention to the Eagle while he was on the ground.

Ryan avoided suspension and was offered a $1500 fine for jumper-punching Gardiner.

The fine was to be the least of Ryan’s concerns. He had to deal with something much more hurtful – racial abuse.

Ryan was subjected to the online vitriol after a post on the official Channel 7 AFL Instagram account asked fans if he should be suspended for the incident with Gardiner. At least two Instagram users referred to Ryan as a "monkey". One post said: "Where did they get this monkey from? Melbourne Zoo."

The AFL and others in the industry were quick to condemn such despicable racial abuse.

The 22-year-old brings elite defensive pressure and clever goal nous to West Coast's forward line.

The 22-year-old brings elite defensive pressure and clever goal nous to West Coast's forward line.Credit: Joe Armao

Eagles ruckman Nic Naitanui tweeted: "When will it end?" WA Premier Mark McGowan, when asked about the abuse, said the comments were "obviously disgusting".

When I was speaking to Ryan at the Clontarf Academy event in November 2017, I said to him: "It is great that you have come along to the graduation." He smiled.

I added: "And the early morning training sessions."

He looked around the room, where the students were talking to their friends and family members, before responding: "Yeah, well Clontarf was really good for me in Geraldton. It gave me discipline and a determination to do well."

I then said: "What I have come to understand is that this program is not really about football. It is about education, building self-esteem and dealing with challenges that life throws up."

"Exactly," he said.

Ryan has had to deal with his fair share of challenges on and off the field since becoming an Eagle.

Hopefully the skills he learnt while being a student at Clontarf helped him deal with these challenges and any others that may come his way in the future.

For the good of his club, the fans, his partner, his family and for himself.

Tony Buti is the state member for Armadale, an author and a keen football follower

Most Viewed in Sport

Loading