Norwood Redlegs sign former Brisbane Lions and North Melbourne AFL midfielder Ryan Bastinac
What brings a 28-year-old Victorian, recently delisted by a Queensland AFL club, to the SANFL? The former Brisbane and North Melbourne midfielder explains.
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What brings a 28-year-old Victorian, recently delisted by a Queensland AFL club, to the SANFL?
For Norwood recruit Ryan Bastinac, it was the chance to reunite with an old “locker buddy” and explore his passions off-field.
The former North Melbourne and Brisbane midfielder put pen to paper at the Redlegs this week after he was delisted by the Lions following 164 AFL games.
But Bastinac’s arrival at The Parade did not happen overnight.
The club has been in his ear through old Kangaroos teammate, now Norwood defender, Brad McKenzie for the past couple of years, pending his future at the top level.
“I still want to play at the highest level I can, I’m not ready for local footy just yet,” says Bastinac, who will add to an already potent Redlegs engine room.
“I probably could have gone back to Melbourne to play locally and got some good money doing that. But I like the way the SANFL is run, with the atmosphere.
“I’ve been to watch the Redlegs a couple of years ago in the grand final (against North Adelaide) and the atmosphere was incredible with Adelaide Oval packed out.
“My best mate, Brad McKenzie, that was another big factor.
“We played a couple of games together at North Melbourne but to be able to play consistently with him now will be unreal.
“I got there a couple of years before him, but as soon as Brad got drafted we were locker buddies and just hit it off straight away.”
Bastinac notched 121 matches with the Kangaroos before a three-way trade deal in 2015 saw him pack his bags and head north for Brisbane, where he would play 43 games for the Lions.
Despite winning the club’s reserves best and fairest and captaining the side to an undefeated NEAFL premiership season, he managed just three senior appearances in 2019.
Now Bastinac hopes to shift focus on an off-field career with his interest in player development and welfare.
“I really enjoyed spending time with some of the young boys at Brisbane and I’m really passionate about helping people,” says Bastinac.
“Norwood said they could help me out in that area and when all those things came together it was a pretty easy decision in the end.”
Bastinac believes player welfare in the AFL is more crucial now than it has ever been, saying “it’s changed a lot” since he first arrived in the league at Arden Street almost 10 years ago.