The dawn of a new AFL season has arrived, and with it comes a plethora of storylines to follow as we meander our way through the long campaign.
Which player will have the biggest impact on their new club? And which of those clubs will jump up the ladder to surprise us all? There’s always so much to sink your teeth into at this time of year.
But one particular plot line from the pre-season has left me scratching my head, and that’s the curious case of Fremantle’s Luke Ryan.
The veteran defender has been left out of the Dockers’ side to face the Cats as a healthy scratch, and if you’ve been listening to coach Justin Longmuir’s comments about Ryan this pre-season, it shouldn’t be all that surprising.
When quizzed on what the deal was with Ryan at a media availability in late-February, Longmuir was unusually direct.
“There’s others ahead of him at the moment,” was his response. “Others have had a bigger and better pre-season than him.”
Now, to be fair to the coach, he did go on to say Ryan’s interrupted pre-season as he returns from a shoulder reconstruction played a large role in those others going past him in the pecking order. However, when asked about the star defender again earlier this week, Longmuir made it clear that Ryan being picked to play in their blockbuster against Geelong was simply “down to selection”, noting that injury or fitness was not a factor. Basically, the call to play Ryan would come down to whether or not he is the best choice (in the eyes of the selection committee) to help the team come away from the Cattery with four points.
Ultimately, they deemed he was not, with names like Brandon Walker (who by all accounts has been fantastic across the summer), Karl Worner, and new recruit Judd McVee all picked ahead of Ryan.
For most run-of-the-mill players in the AFL, being left out of selection isn’t exactly headline news. So why, I hear you ask, is Ryan’s omission so particularly interesting?
To really understand why it’s dominated the headlines over here in the west, you need to take a proper look at Ryan’s career with the Dockers.
For starters, he’s a two-time All-Australian defender, they don’t exactly grow on trees. But more importantly, he’s been a regular and reliable presence in Fremantle’s back six ever since he broke into the side in 2017.
He’s played 179 games since then, including a streak of 107 consecutive appearances (good enough for third among active AFL players), which will now come to an end on Saturday.
Over that time he’s built a reputation for being good enough to defend forwards who outsize him, smart enough to kickstart transition plays from defence, and skilled enough to take kick-ins.
To generalise it, Freo fans have come to know Ryan as a sturdy, steadfast defender who all but anchors what has been one of the AFL’s better backlines.
Now, with the club on the cusp of what feels like their best chance at a flag since the early days of Ross Lyon’s tenure, the 30-year-old finds himself on the outer.
It’s not a situation Freo fans thought they’d be facing this season. It almost feels like one of those “headline you WON’T see” predictions has come true. So, I’m here to ask why.
Why has Fremantle’s greatest defender since Luke McPharlin (you could argue that’s Alex Pearce, but durability and All Australian blazers give the nod to Ryan for mine) been left out of the team?
I genuinely have no idea, so let’s explore the possible reasons.
1. His interrupted pre-season has put him too far behind the eight-ball
This is the easiest answer, but it just doesn’t add up with some of Longmuir’s comments on the matter.
If this was true, it would be completely easy for the coach and club to simply say his body isn’t ready for action, and that he needs more miles in his legs.
Instead, they’ve come out and said it’s solely a matter of preference at selection.
Ryan even went as far as to declare himself fit in the lead up to the game via Perth’s 6PR radio station.
“My shoulder feels pretty much 100% now, and I’ve played a fair few (warm-up) games,” Ryan said.
“I’m ready to go. It’s just a matter of if I get picked or not.”
I don’t know about you, but that feels like a message to the selection committee from where I’m standing, so I’m going to dismiss his previous injuries as a reason for his omission.
2. Others have gone past him
These are the direct words from the coach’s mouth, so it probably makes the most sense that this would be the reason, but let’s explore it for a bit.
It’s not exactly like Ryan ended last season in poor form. He finished Fremantle’s elimination final loss to the Suns with 23 disposals and seven marks, and at no point did it really feel like he was having a down year in 2025.
Maybe his impact was below his 2024 All-Australian campaign, but the club was winning more games and he was still playing a key role.
So who are the others that, in the space of just a few months, have made enough progress to keep the stalwart out of the best 23?
Brandon Walker is candidate number one, who is back in the team after playing just two games in an injury-riddled 2025. His summer has been eye-catching, and his ability to play deep in defence while also creating run and carry can be exciting.
Karl Worner was already in the team, but his evolution as a hard-nut defender has certainly put him in the coach’s good books, and the recruitment of Judd McVee from Melbourne adds some extra competition for spots.
All three of these blokes have been picked ahead of Ryan, so we’ll watch with anticipation to see if Longmuir’s telling us true that they’ve genuinely “gone past him”.
I’ll be watching all three with keen eyes in Round One – any slip-ups or poor performances, and you know the critics will come out in full force calling for Ryan to be reinstated.
3. He doesn’t fit with the new game plan Freo are trying to install
To me, this feels the most plausible reason Ryan has been left out of the side. It’s similar to the above reason of other players having gone past him, but rather than being about personnel, it’s more about the way the veteran defender plays not being compatible with the direction the AFL is headed in.
The buzzword around the league right now is “speed”. Everything is about the game getting faster, and how four of the five opening round games (barring the one Ross Lyon coached in), were all about blitzing on turnover and moving the ball with pace.
This isn’t exactly in Ryan’s wheelhouse.
While he’s largely known as a sharp user of the footy, Ryan is a slow, methodical operator when coming out of defence.
He’s measured, and often that means he may be unwilling to take a risk, or that he takes too long to see more damaging options.
His biggest statistical games come when teams allow Fremantle to chip it around the back, where Ryan will often combine with Brennan Cox or Heath Chapman to slowly move the ball from side to side waiting for an option.
Perhaps that’s not to Longmuir’s liking in 2026? It would make sense as to why Walker, who brings more pace and dare with the footy (as well as more turnovers, it has to be said), has been chosen ahead of him.
Walker may not be able to defend taller or medium-sized forwards the way Ryan can, and he won’t take as many intercept marks, but perhaps the Dockers think they’ll get enough of those out of players like Chapman and Worner.
Out of all the reasons we’ve just explored, this one feels the most likely to me. Still, it doesn’t make Ryan being left out of the side any less shocking.
All accounted for, Ryan’s non-selection has made for a seriously interesting subplot ahead of Fremantle’s clash with Geelong. Will the defence stand up and prove their coaches right? Or will they dearly miss his veteran savvy and calm head?
It’s not the first time Longmuir has made some eyebrow-raising selection calls for Round One.
Glass half empty Dockers fans will be having flashbacks to last year’s corresponding fixture against the Cats where fan-favourite Chapman was named the sub. In that same game, Liam Reidy played ruck before being dropped for the rest of the year, and Freo got pumped.
Whatever happens, Ryan will remain a talking point for some weeks to come.
