THE TRANSITION from star junior to AFL player is rarely as smooth as expected.
Ryley Sanders was selected by the Western Bulldogs with pick No.6 in the 2023 Telstra AFL Draft, and played 14 matches in his first year.
Five of those 14 games saw him either start or finish on the pine as a substitute, and his frustration boiled over in a match against Essendon last year, with an ABC boundary rider reporting he threw a water bottle and towel as he was subbed out.
Fast forward 13 months, and 20-year-old Sanders has fully embraced his half-forward role (with the occasional midfield stint), averaging 20.9 disposals, up from 16.5 last year.
"In your draft year, you're told to hunt the ball, and you're probably getting 30 touches a week. So I struggled with it last year a bit, but this year I've done a much better job at just embracing it. It's made me play the role better," Sanders told AFL.com.au.
"Looking back on last year, you can't change stuff, but I wish I embraced it a bit more. If you're playing a role and you're sooking it up, it's no good for anyone. You're not going to do your best, you're not going to help the team.
"I've definitely matured in that way of not basing my game on [numbers] or anything like that, because it's just not the right way. If I do that, and I haven't had much of the ball in the first half, then I'm going out of my role (mentally).
"I've had a few quarters and halves this year where I've got a lot of the ball, then you do the exact same stuff and get a lot less.
"I'm super lucky. I live with Adam Treloar, he's a beautiful person. Talking to him, to 'Libba' (Tom Liberatore) – but it's probably more myself, I felt like I just had to embrace it. I've learned off the forwards and Matthew Spangher, the forwards coach, and talked to 'Bev' (coach Luke Beveridge) about how I can do that role really well. Because it is a good role, once you learn the running patterns."
Speaking after the thumping victory over Essendon, Sanders had a number of letters written on his wrist strapping.
"I've just got a few key notes. The first couple of games I was struggling a little bit, so just key notes to help me play my best," he said.
"Then I've just got my family ("FAM") there, because they're not why I play footy, but [it's to represent] just how proud they are of me and how much they love coming.
"My aunty and uncle and cousins and mum and dad have come over this week, and just the opportunity to give them these experiences is amazing, and it's something I want to do for a while, and look after them too."
Saturday night marked the first time Sanders had worn this year's iteration of the Dogs' Indigenous guernsey, which contained a very personal representation of his family.
Designed by Kamilya Lowana White, the cousin of teammate Liam Jones, the guernsey is split into sections with a meeting place in the centre (the club), with each portion representing each AFL/W Bulldog and their country.
Sanders' section, the Palawa people of Tasmania, is the red portion at the bottom of the jumper. It contains nine wombat tracks, representing both his totem and playing number, while the symbol for women placed in the segment is for his mother and grandmother.
"It means a lot to me and my family to be on the guernsey. I kept it secret from my mum and nan who are on there, and then when it got publicly released, they were really emotional," he said.
"It's a big deal. When you're in the footy industry, it's normal to play with players like 'Bont' (Marcus Bontempelli) and be recognised in public. But for them, to be on an AFL guernsey, which people will wear – it's really special to me how much it means to them."
