{"id":948329,"date":"2026-11-01T03:56:12","date_gmt":"2026-11-01T03:56:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/948329\/"},"modified":"2026-11-01T03:56:12","modified_gmt":"2026-11-01T03:56:12","slug":"delisted-collingwood-defender-keeps-afl-dream-alive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/948329\/","title":{"rendered":"Delisted Collingwood defender keeps AFL dream alive"},"content":{"rendered":"

Former Collingwood defender Jakob Ryan<\/a> hopes to join an AFL<\/a> roster after four seasons with the Pies.<\/p>\n

The 22-year-old played one league match in 2023, his debut season. He was subbed out during the game after an accidental knee to the head from Brisbane’s Cameron Rayner<\/a> at Marvel Stadium.<\/p>\n

Ryan then spent the next three years trying to fight his way back into AFL<\/a> selection frame; however, he fell short and was delisted at the end of the 2026 season despite performing well in the VFL.<\/p>\n

In an interview with Code Sports, Ryan spoke about how his final exit meeting went with Collingwood.<\/p>\n

“They said they felt I’d been going well this year \u2026 but with the backline they’ve got and [the] fact they’re still going for a flag, it’s going to be hard for me,” Ryan told the publication.<\/p>\n

“I did exactly what they (coaches) said, but it didn’t pan out.<\/p>\n

“Even if you’re not sure if I’m going to play, just tell me that, instead of trying to pump up my tyres.<\/p>\n

“I found that pretty hard to deal with.<\/p>\n

“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.”<\/p>\n

“I got some of the clarity I was seeking in the end.<\/p>\n

“It was more for my mental peace to realise why I wasn’t getting a game.<\/p>\n

“I was still a bit confused, but I’ve got nothing against them.<\/p>\n

“They gave me the best four years of my life, and I achieved my dreams.”<\/p>\n

\"MELBOURNE,MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIA – MARCH 05: Jakob Ryan of the Magpies trains during a Collingwood Magpies AFL training session at Olympic Park Oval on March 05, 2025 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Morgan Hancock\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

The 189cm defender came second in Collingwood’s VFL best and fairest award after averaging 23 disposals, 14 kicks and five marks across 18 matches.<\/p>\n

Ryan is part of a group of nine Pies departing the club this off-season with Joel Cochran<\/a> (delisted), Harrison Coe<\/a> (delisted), Wil Parker<\/a> (delisted), Mitch Podhajski<\/a> (delisted), Iliro Smit<\/a> (delisted), Lachie Sullivan<\/a> (delisted), Scott Pendlebury<\/a> (Gold Coast) and Steele Sidebottom<\/a> (retired).<\/p>\n

Fellow defender Harry DeMattia<\/a> has been delisted but will be re-drafted by the club, while Noah Howes<\/a> has also been delisted but could be given a train-on role over summer pending on Collingwood’s draft night haul.<\/p>\n

Ryan was plucked out of South Australian club Glenelg with Pick 28 in the 2022 National Draft.<\/p>\n

The hard-running defender said he hopes to get another chance at AFL<\/a> level, but he’s not sure whether he would be better off playing at home in the SANFL or stay in the VFL.<\/p>\n

“I still feel like I’m still in that age bracket to go for it,” he said.<\/p>\n

“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.<\/p>\n

“My first priority is to hopefully win a flag.<\/p>\n

“Then hopefully, by playing good enough, I can get picked up again.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Former Collingwood defender Jakob Ryan hopes to join an AFL roster after four seasons with the Pies. The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":948330,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-948329","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948329","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=948329"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/948329\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/948330"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=948329"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=948329"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=948329"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}