PERHAPS one of the more unlucky players to miss out on this year’s AFL Academy intake, West Adelaide midfielder Kobe Ryan let his football do the talking in Round 1 of the SANFL Under 18s season. Having starred across various levels as a bottom-ager, the 18-year-old completed a full senior preseason with Westies and has hit the ground running in 2022.

Ryan started out his top-age campaign in the Under 18s despite impressing in a League trial game, helping his Bloods wrestle a 23-point win over Norwood at Hisense Stadium on Saturday. Topping the charts for disposals, clearances and inside 50s, it is fair to say he made an impact. We put Ryan’s Round 1 performance under the Player Focus microscope.

West AdelaideMidfielder

Kobe Ryan

Height: 183cm

Weight: 73kg

DOB: 17-02-2004

Strengths:

Clean hands

Consistency

Decision making

Production

ROUND 1
West Adelaide 14.12 (96) def. Norwood 11.7 (73)

Stats: 30 disposals (21 kicks, 9 handballs), 8 marks, 4 tackles, 7 clearances, 10 inside 50s, 1 goal

FIRST QUARTER

The first term was a standout for Ryan numbers-wise, as he racked up 11 disposals with plenty of time on-ball. He attended four of five centre bounces across the opening 25 minutes, playing the sweeper role well but blowing out the cobwebs in terms of his ball use.

In an indifferent few passages of play, Ryan dropped a mark presenting up to half-back, lost his footing on multiple occasions, and uncharacteristically turned the ball over when going forward by foot. He also gave away a free kick and 25-metre penalty which lead to a Norwood goal, but only after he nabbed one of his own in similar circumstances.

What stood out most for Ryan across the first term was his accumulation factor, and any player who finds that much of the ball is bound to do something with it eventually. He had positive moments and was generally clean in his handling, but the best was yet to come.

SECOND QUARTER

Having gotten the early rub of the green in terms of centre bounce attendances, Ryan featured at two of six in term two as he rotated out to the wing. Unfortunately, his direct opponent Noah Hyde did him in during an early passage, sparking a scoring chain for the Redlegs.

Not to be deterred, Ryan hit back well and leant on his work rate to make an impact. His clean hands also allowed him to make better and quicker decisions under pressure, especially in the second half of the term when moved back on-ball.

Ryan boosted his confidence with a few neater, shorter kicks around the ground and eventually found his range going inside 50. Overall, his composure and execution were better, but he still found himself stumbling a touch at the contest. Six more touches made for a handy return nonetheless.

THIRD QUARTER

While he was thrown back into the middle for the opening centre bounce, Ryan was only sighted at one of the six following restarts but managed another strong quarter. He continued to be happy holding his width at stoppages, and picked up his uncontested game nicely.

Ryan always seemed to be an option when West Adelaide looked to execute a short kicking style coming out of defence, and it suited him well. His ability to dispose of the ball neatly in those situations was again showcased, as he covered plenty of ground on the spread.

Seven disposals ended up making for another productive period of play, with Ryan tracking the play both ways without too much concern for his direct opponent, and consistently getting to good spots to either impact a contest or receive on the outer.

FOURTH QUARTER

In what was a high-scoring quarter for both sides, Ryan boosted his centre bounce attendance numbers with a further six of 10, but only really had a profound impact after the opening 10 minutes of play.

A particular highlight in term four was a display of Ryan’s lightning quick hands, as he released in a flash under pressure at the back of a centre bounce. He was also not afraid to compete when required, with another standout passage seeing him drop a mark at half-forward, but bounce straight back up and lay a holding the ball tackle on the second effort.

Much like the remainder of his game, Ryan’s coverage of the ground allowed him to be an option for hand-offs and he continued to follow the flow of play shrewdly to ensure he could be the one to set Westies forward on the outside.

Overall, it was a solid finish to arguably a best afield effort for Ryan. He was the most consistent accumulator throughout the game and showed a nice balance in his role on either side of midfield.

While he had a couple of undisciplined moments, went to ground a touch easy in the early stages, and took a bit of time to get his skills going, Ryan was able to display some of his best traits in the end – clean hands, good decision making, and the ability to find plenty of the ball. The next step will be proving more damaging with each touch.