Wikipedia

Ryan Lester

Ryan Lester (born 26 August 1992) is an Australian rules footballer who plays for the Brisbane Lions in the Australian Football League (AFL).

Ryan Lester
Lester in April 2019
Personal information
Full name Ryan Lester
Date of birth (1992-08-26) 26 August 1992 (age 32)
Original team(s) Oakleigh Chargers (TAC Cup)
Draft No. 28, 2010 national draft
Debut Round 1, 2011, Brisbane Lions vs. Fremantle, at the Gabba
Height 191 cm (6 ft 3 in)
Weight 85 kg (187 lb)
Position(s) Utility
Club information
Current club Brisbane Lions
Number 35
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2011– Brisbane Lions 207 (47)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of 2024.
Career highlights
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Early life

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Ryan attended Glen Waverley Secondary College in Melbourne's Eastern suburbs.

AFL career

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Lester was selected with the 28th pick in the 2010 AFL draft. He made his debut in Round 1 of the 2011 AFL season against the Fremantle Dockers. Lester injured his lisfranc ligament, which is the ligament that stabilises the first and second metatarsal bones, against the Melbourne Demons in round 3.[1] Lester did not play again for that season.

In his 2nd season with the Lions, Lester was named in the squad 18 times throughout the season. In round 6, 2012, Lester finished with a career high 27 disposals in Brisbane's 115-55 loss against the Swans..[2]

In 2014, Lester signed a two-year extension to stay with the Lions.

In 2017, under the clubs first season with Chris Fagan as head coach, Lester played all 22 games for the first and only time in his career[3]

Lester was offered ongoing 1 year contracts from 2019 until 2022.[3] At the conclusion of the 2022 season, Lester was delisted.[4] However, Fagan brought the defender back in the 2022 rookie draft, and made him captain of the Lions VFL team.

Lester was not given a game in the Lions squad until round 7, when an injury to teammate Darcy Gardiner gave the defender an opportunity back in the squad. Lester was again dropped in round 11, but would later return to the Lions best 22 in round 14. After his return to the squad, Lester had a career best year. Midway through the 2023 season, Lester signed a one-year contract with Brisbane, keeping him at the Lions until the end of the 2024 season.[5] Lester played in the Lions 2023 Grand Final loss to the Magpies.

Lester was part of the Brisbane Lions 2024 premiership winning team, a 60 point victory over the Sydney Swans.[6]

Personal life

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Ryan is married to Emi Lester (nee Zorko), sister of teammate and former Lions captain, Dayne Zorko.[7] The couple got married on 13 October 2018.[8] Together they have 2 children; a son named Romeo, born on 8 August 2020, and a daughter named Georgie, born on 21 May 2022.[9]

Lester completed a Bachelor of Business, majoring in Finance through Swinburne.[3]

Statistics

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Updated to the end of 2024 [10]

Legend
  G  
 Goals
  K  
 Kicks
  D  
 Disposals 
  T  
 Tackles
  B  
 Behinds 
  H  
 Handballs 
  M  
 Marks
  #  
 Played in that season's 
premiership team
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game)
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2011 Brisbane Lions 35 3 2 1 15 22 37 11 1 0.7 0.3 5.0 7.3 12.3 3.7 0.3
2012 Brisbane Lions 35 19 3 4 168 120 288 77 30 0.2 0.2 8.8 6.3 15.2 4.1 1.6
2013 Brisbane Lions 35 16 4 5 122 147 269 46 41 0.3 0.3 7.6 9.2 16.8 2.9 2.6
2014 Brisbane Lions 35 14 3 1 116 148 264 49 65 0.2 0.1 8.3 10.6 18.9 3.5 4. 6
2015 Brisbane Lions 35 9 8 2 60 60 120 38 21 0.9 0.2 6.7 6.7 13.3 4.2 2.3
2016 Brisbane Lions 35 19 11 9 111 113 224 63 50 0.6 0.5 5.8 5.9 11.8 3.3 2.6
2017 Brisbane Lions 35 22 14 8 198 159 357 117 63 0.6 0.4 9.0 7.2 16.2 5.3 2.9
2018 Brisbane Lions 35 15 0 2 133 107 240 69 40 0.0 0.1 8.9 7.1 16.0 4.6 2.7
2019 Brisbane Lions 35 9 0 0 81 27 108 32 30 0.0 0.0 9.0 3.0 12.0 3.6 3.3
2020[a] Brisbane Lions 35 15 0 1 107 70 177 62 35 0.0 0.1 7.1 4.7 11.8 4.1 2.3
2021 Brisbane Lions 35 17 1 0 112 86 198 72 32 0.1 0.0 6.6 5.1 11.6 4.2 1.9
2022 Brisbane Lions 35 3 0 0 16 9 25 4 6 0.0 0.0 5.3 3.0 8.3 1.3 2.0
2023 Brisbane Lions 35 19 1 1 197 71 268 119 38 0.1 0.1 10.4 3.7 14.1 6.3 2.0
2024# Brisbane Lions 35 27 0 1 289 99 388 175 48 0.0 0.0 10.7 3.7 14.4 6.5 1.8
Career 207 47 35 1735 1238 2963 934 500 0.2 0.2 8.3 6.0 14.3 4.5 2.4

Notes

  1. ^ The 2020 season was played with 17 home-and-away matches per team (down from 22) and 16-minute quarters with time on (down from 20-minute quarters with time on) due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Honours and achievements

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Team

References

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  1. ^ "Polec blow for Lions". sportal.com.au.
  2. ^ "Ryan Lester | AFL". lions.com.au. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  3. ^ a b c Stafford, Andrew (26 September 2023). "He was dropped 17 times, delisted, made VFL captain. Now he'll play in an AFL grand final". The Age. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  4. ^ "Former Cat among three Lions delisted, set to get lifeline". afl.com.au. 21 October 2022. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
  5. ^ "McInerney and Lester Sign On". lions.com.au. 14 August 2023. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  6. ^ "Lion Kings: Fagan's heroes thrash Swans in GF shock". AFL. 28 September 2024.
  7. ^ "Lester plays 'hardball'". lions.com.au. 18 February 2014. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  8. ^ "Instagram". www.instagram.com. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  9. ^ "Ryan Lester Welcomes Baby Girl". lions.com.au. 22 May 2022. Retrieved 19 October 2023.
  10. ^ "Ryan Lester". AFL Tables. Retrieved 1 October 2024.
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