Former Barwon Heads and Geelong West player Brandon Ryan details journey to Hawthorn in mid-season draft
A former Barwon Heads and Geelong West junior has detailed his “crazy ride” to the AFL level after he was picked up in Wednesday’s AFL mid-season draft.
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Former Barwon Heads junior footballer and newest Hawthorn forward Brandon Ryan is still trying to get his head around his whirlwind career after landing on an AFL list at the mid-season draft.
The 200cm, 25 year old prospect was plucked from obscurity on Wednesday night, selected by the Hawks with pick 12 after a dominant 2023 campaign with Maribyrnong Park in the Essendon Districts Football League, as well as some strong performances with the Northern Bullants at the VFL level.
Ryan, who has booted 18.10 from seven VFL matches this season, said on SEN with Gerard Whateley that he missed a call from Hawks coach Sam Mitchell after he was selected.
“He gave me a call, I actually missed his, I had so many through and I just went to the voicemail and made sure I called back anyone important and he was the first one so I called him back straight away,” he said.
“I definitely have to pinch myself to think how far I’ve come … it doesn’t feel that long ago I was playing out at Maribyrnong Park.
“I didn’t play TAC Cup, I was a late developer … I played for Barwon Heads growing up, that’s where I’m from.
“It wasn’t until I was 17 or 18 when I got my height and got control of my body a bit better than when I was younger, and just built from there each year.”
Ryan played his junior football for Barwon Heads before moving to the GFL to play with Geelong West, where he impressed enough to earn a VFL contract with North Melbourne in 2018.
His stint at North Melbourne lasted two seasons, before he returned to local football with Maribyrnong Park where he dominated, kicking 22 goals in eight games in 2021 and 38 goals in 17 games in 2022.
Ryan, who is cousins with Fremantle superstar Luke Ryan, said an AFL berth was not on the cards in the previous seasons.
“It hasn’t all quite sunk in, I’m just over the moon at the moment, it’s been a crazy ride to say the least,” he said.
“It (the AFL dream) wasn’t even in the picture to be honest, it was more so do I look at doing a VFL pre-season and then go from there, and then it just kept snowballing from that point.”
Maribyrnong Park coach Brad Swain believed Ryan always had the talent to make it at a higher level.
“His understanding of his own game has helped him achieve this goal,” he said.
“He was able to get more strength through his hips which meant more power through his legs. His kicking has improved out of sight.
“As a forward, he developed an understanding of being able to work his way through opponents and the different match-ups he might face.
“Our club is massive on giving people an opportunity to thrive and we’re pleased he’s been able to do that.”
Originally published as Former Barwon Heads and Geelong West player Brandon Ryan details journey to Hawthorn in mid-season draft
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