Andrew Ryan (born 2 December 1978,

Dubbo Dubbo (; ) is a city in the Orana (New South Wales), Orana Region of New South Wales, Australia. It is the largest population centre in the Orana region, with a population of 43,516 at June 2021. The city is located at the intersection of the ...

New South Wales New South Wales (commonly abbreviated as NSW) is a States and territories of Australia, state on the Eastern states of Australia, east coast of :Australia. It borders Queensland to the north, Victoria (state), Victoria to the south, and South ...

) is an Australian former professional

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as rugby league in English-speaking countries and rugby 13/XIII in non-Anglophone Europe, is a contact sport, full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular Rugby league playin ...

footballer who played in the 2000s and 2010s. An

Australian Australian(s) may refer to: Australia * Australia, a country * Australians, citizens of the Commonwealth of Australia ** European Australians ** Anglo-Celtic Australians, Australians descended principally from British colonists ** Aboriginal Aus ...

international and

State of Origin representative forward, he played his club football in the

National Rugby League The National Rugby League (also known as the NRL Telstra Premiership for sponsorship reasons) is a professional rugby league competition in Oceania which contains clubs from New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria (state), Victoria, the Austral ...

for the

Parramatta Eels The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, and ...

and

Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the NRL Telstra Premiership, as well as competitions facilitated by ...

, winning the

2004 NRL premiership The 2004 NRL season (also known as the 2004 Telstra Premiership due to sponsorship from Telstra) was the 97th season of professional rugby league football in Australia, and the seventh run by the National Rugby League. Fifteen clubs competed dur ...

with the club and becoming their captain.

Playing career

Of Irish descent, A Dubbo High School, St. Johns Dubbo and Emu Plains JRLFC junior, Ryan made his debut for the

against the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Red Hill, a suburb of Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos compete in the National Rugby League (NRL) and play their home games at ...

at Parramatta Stadium in round 2 of the

2000 NRL season The 2000 NRL season was the 93rd season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the third to be run by the National Rugby League. Fourteen teams competed from February until August for the NRL Premiership, culminating in the 200 ...

. Ryan played in the club's preliminary final defeat against the

in the same year. He was named the 2000 Parramatta Eels season's rookie of the year. In the

2001 NRL season The 2001 NRL season was the 94th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the fourth run by the National Rugby League. Also called the 2001 Telstra Premiership (due to sponsorship from Telstra Corporation) it was contested ...

, Ryan made 24 appearances as Parramatta finished as runaway

Minor Premiers A minor premiership is the title given to the team which finishes a sporting competition first in the league standings after the regular season but prior to commencement of the finals in several Australian sports leagues. Origins The etymology ...

after one of the most dominant seasons in the modern era where the club set numerous point scoring records. Ryan played from the interchange bench for Parramatta in their shock 2001 NRL grand final loss to the

Newcastle Knights The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league team based in Newcastle, New South Wales that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership. Playing in red and blue, the Knights joined the top-tier competition in New ...

. After three seasons with the

, the club was unable to retain Ryan due to the salary cap and the man known as 'Bobcat' accepted a deal to join arch-rivals the Canterbury-Bankstown for the

2003 NRL season The 2003 NRL premiership was the 96th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the sixth run by the National Rugby League. Fifteen teams competed, with the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles returning in place of their failed joint ...

. His second season with Canterbury-Bankstown was personally and professionally his most successful – with a return to State of Origin, selection at international level, and a premiership win in the 2004 NRL grand final for Canterbury over cross-town rivals, the

Sydney Roosters Eastern Suburbs District Rugby League Football Club, known as the Sydney Roosters are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs (Sydney), Eastern Suburbs. The club competes in the National Rugby Lea ...

. Ryan pulled off a try saving tackle on the full-time siren during the match on Sydney Roosters player Michael Crocker which won Canterbury the game. Ryan also captained the Canterbury side in this match with regular

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

Steve Price ruled out after sustaining an injury in the preliminary final against the 2003 premiers, the

Penrith Panthers The Penrith Panthers are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Greater Western Sydney suburb of Penrith, New South Wales, Penrith that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL). The team is based west of the cen ...

. Ryan was selected in the Australian team to go and compete in the end of season

2004 Rugby League Tri-Nations The second Rugby League Tri-Nations tournament (known as the Gillette (brand), Gillette Tri-Nations due to sponsorship) was contested between October 2004 in sports, 16 October and November 2004 in sports, 27 November of 2004 in sports, 2004. The ...

tournament. In the final against

Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the north-west coast of continental Europe, consisting of the countries England, Scotland, and Wales. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the List of European ...

he played at second-row forward in the Kangaroos' 44–4 victory. In 2005, Ryan became captain of the club following Price's move to the

New Zealand Warriors The Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand that competes in the National Rugby League (NRL) premiership and is the League's only team from outside Australia. They were formed in 1995 as the Aucklan ...

. Ryan was selected to play for the Australian national team at lock forward the 2007 ANZAC Test match victory against New Zealand. In 2009, he was named Dally M Captain of the Year, after leading the club to within one game of a Grand Final appearance, after they had finished the year prior with the wooden spoon. He was the last 2004 premiership-winning player still at the club when he retired at the conclusion of the

2011 NRL season The 2011 NRL season was the 104th season of professional rugby league football club competition in Australia, and the fourteenth and last run by the National Rugby League's partnership committee of the Australian Rugby League and News Ltd. The ...

Post playing career

Ryan is now an ambassador and player welfare officer for the National Rugby League. Ryan is also an Australian Apprenticeships Ambassador for the Australian Government.

Representative selection

Ryan was selected to represent

as variously a second-rower or lock in five series to the end of 2007: * Games II and III of the

2001 State of Origin series The 2001 State of Origin series was the 20th year that the annual three-game series between the Queensland and New South Wales representative rugby league football teams was contested entirely under ' state of origin' selection rules. The series ...

* Games I and II of the

2004 State of Origin series The 2004 State of Origin series was the 23rd time that the annual three-game series between the Queensland and New South Wales representative rugby league football teams was contested entirely under ' state of origin' selection rules. A pre-ser ...

* Games I, II and III of the

2005 State of Origin series The 2005 State of Origin series saw the 24th time that the annual three-game series between the Queensland and New South Wales representative rugby league football teams was contested entirely under ' state of origin' selection rules. The three ...

* Games I and II of the

2006 State of Origin series The 2006 State of Origin series was the 25th year that the annual best-of-three series of interstate rugby league football matches between the Queensland and New South Wales representative teams was contested entirely under ' state of origin' se ...

* Games I, II and III of the 2007 State of Origin series * He was selected at Lock for the 2008 City V Country match at WIN stadium. Ryan was also a mainstay of the

Australian Kangaroos The Australian national rugby league team, the Kangaroos, have represented Australia in senior men's rugby league football competitions since the establishment of the game in Australia in 1908. Administered by the Australian Rugby League Comm ...

, appearing in three Tri-Nations series in

2004 2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO). Events January * January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...

2005 2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. The beginning of 2005 also marked the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous Peoples, Internationa ...

and

2006 2006 was designated as the International Year of Deserts and Desertification. Events January * January 1– 4 – Russia temporarily cuts shipment of natural gas to Ukraine during a price dispute. * January 12 – A stampede during t ...

as well as a Test against

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

in 2005. He was selected for Country in the City vs Country match on 8 May 2009.

References

External links

*
Andrew Ryan Bulldog's Profile

NRL Player Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Andrew 1978 births Living people Australia national rugby league team players Australian people of Irish descent Australian rugby league players Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs players Country New South Wales Origin rugby league team players New South Wales Rugby League State of Origin players Parramatta Eels players Rugby league players from Dubbo Rugby league props Rugby league second-rows