Luke Ryan on his Justin Bieber inspiration and his different path to the game’s highest level

Fremantle’s one-of-a-kind defender Luke Ryan reveals the true inspiration for his shock of blond hair and how his mum bribed him to give AFL footy one more crack.

Blake Acres of the Saints chases Luke Ryan of the Dockers.

Luke Ryan is a Belieber.

Fremantle’s gun half-back and All-Australian contender is an unabashed fan of Canadian pop star Justin Bieber.

Ryan’s shock of blond hair has been as bright as his form so far this season and the Victorian says he has no intention of restyling the feathers.

“Justin Bieber did it a long time ago. I’ve wanted to do it for ages and I had the day off and had nothing else to do so I took myself off to the hairdresser and ‘Coxy’ (housemate Brennan Cox) got his done as well,” Ryan says.

“Justin Bieber, I try to look like him but I’m probably a bit far off. It’s very addictive music and he’s a good artist.

“I’m liking it. There’s a few comments, not that it worries me too much.

“It was growing out and David Mundy said I had to keep it for the rest of the year so I think it’s staying there for the season.”

Luke Ryan rebounds out of defence for the Dockers.

Ryan’s father Michael is the assistant grounds and gardens manager at Flemington Racecourse, a stone’s throw from the family home.

It’s Michael’s expertise that helps to ensure the roses remain an attraction in themselves. Fittingly, his son continues to blossom at the highest level four years after his life appeared destined to go in a far different direction.

You see, like the Bieber-inspired hairdo, Ryan has never been scared to do things his way.

He left school a month into Year 11 to pursue a carpentry apprenticeship and in 2015 dropped out of the Calder Cannons program to play for Maribyrnong Park in the Essendon District Football League.

Here, the lack of pressure and expectation was a welcome relief.

“At the Cannons, I wasn’t your typical kid there. They were all going to school at 9am and finishing at 3pm. I was up at 5am and finishing around 5pm and then going straight to training,” Ryan says.

“I was a bit tired and stressed and sore. It was a lot harder for me to go to training and enjoy it. Sometimes I was a bit grumpy and tired, so it was pretty hard for me to train while working those long hours.

“I even used to work on the Saturday up until 12pm and rock up to games in my work gear and play straight away. It was pretty hard.

“Mum used to make my lunch and mum and dad always supported me through it.”

Luke Ryan at Coburg.

Indeed, it was mum Dianne who resurrected her son’s career with some good old-fashioned bribery.

“I had got a few calls from Essendon and Coburg to train with them and play VFL,” Ryan says.

“Mum said to just give it one more crack and she’s like, ‘I’ll buy you a dog if you have another go at it’ because I really wanted a dog. I thought, ‘Why not?’.”

Ryan trained with the Bombers, but after completing the full pre-season was told his contested ball wasn’t up to scratch and was cut from the squad.

“Coburg gave me a call a day later and I went there and was grateful for the opportunity,” he said.

Ten games later, the then-20-year-old was the hottest mature-age draft prospect in the land and would go on to win the Fothergill-Round Medal as the VFL’s best under 23 player.

Luke Ryan crunches Adelaide’s Brad Crouch.

Ryan credits Coburg coach and former North Melbourne star Peter German as an instrumental figure in his resurgence

“Peter was probably the biggest one who pulled me into line and I loved every minute of it there,” he says.

“He used to make me sit next to him in the meetings so we always had a good relationship.

“He’d always pull up a chair and I had to sit next to him. I used to cop it from the boys as the coach’s pet.”

By November 2016 Ryan had attracted the attention of several AFL clubs as a very coachable defender whose decision-making and understanding of when to drop off and intercept was catching the eye.

Still, that year’s draft had reached the 60s and Ryan’s name had not been read out.

“I was sitting next to mum and I said to her: ‘I’m not going anywhere, I’m not getting picked here’. Luckily enough Fremantle called me and mum was happy, but the next thing you know she’s crying because I’m moving to Perth.”

At the Dockers there has been improvement every year. Eleven games in 2017 was followed by a breakout 2018 in which he finished fifth in the best-and-fairest.

Thirteen rounds into this year he is very much in the All-Australian conversation.

“I’m three years in now so the body is a lot stronger, a lot fitter and I’m more mature … so I think every year helps,” Ryan says.

“I’ve got good coaches and leaders here that help me. Coming over under Ross (Lyon), you hear a lot of things and I really enjoy playing under him.

“He teaches you so much, he helps and he’s really like a father figure, to be honest.”

Ryan, who lives in the Fremantle suburb of Coogee with teammates Cox and Taylin Duman, goes back to his roots to escape Perth’s two-team football fishbowl.

The defender is a part-owner of horse, Mankind, with several teammates. Veteran teammate Hayden Ballantyne is the trainer, with the owners celebrating their maiden win last week.

“It’s just a fun thing to do outside of footy, to watch it run and get involved with the boys,” Ryan says.