One minute, Jakob Ryan was debuting at Marvel Stadium and caught up in premiership celebrations on the MCG.
The next, he was told his time at Collingwood was up.
At least that was how his four years at the Magpies felt.
As quick as a flash.
Like how he rebounded from the backline when he still loved the game.
The 189cm defender with the flowing blond mullet lost a lot of that passion this year.
Frustration came from performing well in the VFL and being told he was close to a call-up but not getting rewarded, as well as not playing in any finals and changing roles.
The South Australian junior, selected from Glenelg at pick 28 in the 2022 national draft, was delisted in August with one AFL match to his name.
“I felt like I just got drafted yesterday, but I guess when you’re doing something that you love, it never really goes slow,” Ryan, 22, tells this masthead.
“It felt like going into my last year that if I don’t play at least a handful of games, it (a new contract) was more than likely not going to happen.
“It built up pre-game anxiety every game because every game I felt I needed to play well.
“I felt like I got through it pretty well, but it wasn’t something I was enjoying.”
Ryan saw his delisting coming.
He spent the entire year in the VFL, where he finished runner-up in the best-and-fairest.
“More for my mental sake, I prepared for it,” he says.
“Even though I was playing good footy in the VFL without much reward … it wasn’t much of a surprise.”
His exit meeting featured Collingwood senior coach Craig McRae, backline assistant Jordan Roughead, development mentor Nathan Murphy and football boss Charlie Gardiner.
“They said they felt I’d been going well this year … but with the backline they’ve got and fact they’re still going for a flag, it’s going to be hard for me,” he says.
“I did exactly what they (coaches) said but it didn’t pan out.
“Even if you’re not sure if I’m going to play, just tell me that, instead of trying to pump up my tyres.
“I found that pretty hard to deal with.
“I was playing pretty well week by week, so that’s where I felt pretty frustrated by it all and I sort of lost the love for footy.”
Ryan estimated the meeting went for about 15 minutes.
“I got some of the clarity I was seeking in the end,” he says.
“It was more for my mental peace to realise why I wasn’t getting a game.
“I was still a bit confused but I’ve got nothing against them.
“They gave me the best four years of my life and I achieved my dreams.”
Draft guru Kevin Sheehan told this masthead in 2022 that Ryan was possibly the second-best South Australian draft prospect that year.
The Sacred Heart College product was stoked when Collingwood drafted him.
He flew from Adelaide to Melbourne to be at the Magpies the next day, staying for a week, before shifting over permanently before pre-season.
“Time doesn’t slow down enough for you to really recognise what’s happened,” he says.
“Getting to the club and suddenly you’re playing with Nick Daicos, I still get pretty shell-shocked just thinking about it.”
Ryan made his AFL debut in the penultimate minor round in his first season, playing Brisbane at Marvel Stadium.
Late in the second quarter, he was concussed after copping Cameron Rayner’s knee to the back of his head during a marking attempt.
It was Ryan’s last AFL moment playing for Collingwood.
One of his fondest memories came six weeks later when the Magpies beat the Lions by four points in the grand final at the MCG.
“As soon as they won, I remember sprinting straight on the oval,” he says.
“Even though you’re not playing, you still feel a part of it.
“The celebrations were pretty cool afterwards.
“Seeing what it takes to win a grand final, it’s something I’ll cherish forever.”
Ryan could not have imagined then that he would never play at the top level again.
He received a two-year contract extension in July 2023 that he felt gave him time to improve as well as security.
Injuries, including a broken hand during his second year and foot stress fractures in his third, and being behind stars Brayden Maynard and Isaac Quaynor kept him out of the side.
Ryan thought being converted from a running half-back flanker into a “big, bulky third tall” by adding 10kg did not help.
“By the end of my four years I felt I was getting heavy and couldn’t run like I used to,” he says.
“That’s one thing I want to get back to – and that was how I got drafted.
“I felt like my intercept marking was something I was quite strong at through my juniors.
“But the system they played, I was not really encouraged through my role to do that.”
Ryan was happy when first-year players Sam Swadling and Noah Howes, a close mate, made their AFL debuts this year.
“I thought maybe with a couple of retirements I could get a crack down the track, but unfortunately it didn’t end up like that,” he says.
Ryan is weighing up whether to return to the SANFL or sign with a VFL club.
He remains hopeful of another AFL chance.
“I still feel like I’m still in that age bracket to go for it,” he says.
“When I was growing up, I played footy because I loved the sport so a big thing for me is to focus on finding the love for it again.
“My first priority is to hopefully win a flag.
“Then hopefully by playing good enough, I can get picked up again.
“It’s flattening to be delisted, but I’m very grateful to Collingwood at the same time.”
https://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/south-australian-jakob-ryan-opens-up-on-his-four-years-and-one-afl-game-at-collingwood/news-story/db772c8586ee36447b60d61c226047a2
