Fremantle defender Luke Ryan has opened up on the rival interest that attempted to lure him from the west before signing a new deal last year, revealing that while he had offers, he wanted to remain in purple for the long term.
The 27-year-old, who made his debut in 2017, put pen to paper on a four-year contract extension late last year, committing to the club until at least the end of 2027.
Originally drafted with pick no.66 in the 2016 National Draft, Ryan has since played 109 games with Fremantle, earning All-Australian selection and a club best and fairest award in 2020.
Speaking to the West Australian just a month out from the season kicking off, Ryan revealed that despite rival interest last year he had wanted to become a "Docker for life".
โI had a few offers,โ Ryan said.
โIt was pretty much just becoming a Docker for life. Talking to parents and my pop, I said hopefully I'm going to be here for the rest of my life.
โThe Dockers picked me up with pick 66, I didn't think I was going to get drafted so I owe everything to them.
โWith what the club is doing and where we're going, it was pretty hard to leave so I'm happy I made that choice.
โWe're loving each other's company and the chemistry is building every year, we're all young and we're all eager to get better.โ
Fremantle's long-time skipper Nat Fyfe stood down earlier in the week, leaving the Dockers with a big captaincy decision to make before the season kicks off.
Ryan endorsed both Alex Pearce and Andrew Brayshaw as the "standout" choices to replace Fyfe, supporting the idea of co-captains.
โIt's a hard choice,โ Ryan said.
โIf Fyfe wanted to do it, he would've taken my vote but obviously it's a big choice and big decision.
โAlex Pearce and Andy are probably the two main standouts with Caleb not far behind, but he's only played a handful of games and is only 22 years of age.
โThey both really haven't captained much, Andy has only played 100 games of footy and โMoose' (84 games), so they could probably help each other and feed off each other, that would be pretty nice.
โWhoever it will be, it will be the right choice, even if it was both.โ
Fremantle are expected to make a call on their leadership group in the coming weeks, while their season kicks off on Sunday, March 19 against St Kilda at Marvel Stadium.
