Already one of the game’s best intercepting and rebound defenders, Ryan took his game to another level with Freo’s backline missing tall defenders Alex Pearce, Joel Hamling and Griffin Logue for all or most of the season. Standing at 186cm and often giving up 20kg and 20cm to his opponents, Ryan took on the key defender role and won more than his fair share of individual battles. His ability as an intercepting and rebounding defender still shone through as he led Fremantle for intercept marks, metres gained and led the AFL with 113 rebound 50s – 17 more than any other player in the league. He became the first defender since Dale Kickett (1997) to win a Doig Medal.