Ryley Sanders

Australian rules footballer
Ryley Sanders
Personal information
Full name Ryley Sanders
Date of birth (2005-01-21) 21 January 2005 (age 19)
Original team(s) North Launceston(TSL) /Sandringham Dragons(Talent League)/Melbourne Grammar(APS)
Draft No. 6, 2023 AFL draft
Height 186 cm (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Midfielder, Forward
Club information
Current club Western Bulldogs
Number 9
Playing career1
Years Club Games (Goals)
2024– Western Bulldogs 3 (0)
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of round 3, 2024.
Career highlights
  • Larke Medal (2023)
Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com

Ryley Sanders is a professional Australian rules footballer who was selected by Western Bulldogs as the number six pick in the 2023 AFL draft.[1]

Career

Sanders a Tasmanian native, played his junior football at North Launceston Bombers and school football for St Patrick’s College before playing for the Tasmania Devils in the NAB League for the 2021 season. He would relocate to Victoria, boarding at Melbourne Grammar School for 2022 and 2023 and switched to the Sandringham Dragons. His efforts in the U18 league, where he didn't tally less than 25 disposals a game, led to his selection in the championship winning Allies team for the AFL Under-19 Championships. Winning the Larke Medal for best player of the tournament. He grew up following Gold Coast Suns.

Due to his Indigenous background, he was linked with the North Melbourne Next Generation Academy (NGA), during his final year in the Under 18 competition, although due to AFL rules around NGA’s, his draft rights could only be matched by North Melbourne if he was selected after Pick 40. He would instead be drafted by the Western Bulldogs with Pick 6, after North Melbourne used Pick 2 and 4 on Colby McKercher and Zane Duursma.[2]

Sanders would make his AFL debut in the Bulldog's Round 1 match against Melbourne in a 45-point loss.[3]

Statistics

Statistics are correct to Round 2 of 2024 season.
Legend
  G  
Goals
  K  
Kicks
  D  
Disposals 
  T  
Tackles
  B  
Behinds 
  H  
Handballs 
  M  
Marks
Season Team No. Games Totals Averages (per game) Votes
G B K H D M T G B K H D M T
2024 Western Bulldogs 9 3 0 1 28 29 57 12 13 0 0.3 9.3 9.6 19.0 4.0 4.3 0
Career 3 0 1 28 29 57 12 13 0 0.3 9.3 9.6 19.0 4.0 4.3 0

References

  1. ^ Siracusa, Claire; Ward, Roy; McGowan, Marc (2023-11-22). "Every pick from the 2023 AFL's national, pre-season and rookie drafts". The Age. Retrieved 2024-03-01.
  2. ^ "Why this young Bulldog DM'd one of the AFL's toughest mids". 5 February 2024.
  3. ^ "Melbourne v Western Bulldogs". 17 March 2024.

External links

  • Ryley Sanders's profile on the official website of the Western Bulldogs
  • Ryley Sanders's playing statistics from AFL Tables Edit this at Wikidata
  • Ryley Sanders at AustralianFootball.com Edit this at Wikidata
  • v
  • t
  • e
Western Bulldogs – current squad

* denotes rookie listed players

  • v
  • t
  • e
First round
  • 1. Harley Reid
  • 2. Colby McKercher
  • 3. Jed Walter (academy selection)
  • 4. Zane Duursma
  • 5. Nick Watson
  • 6. Ryley Sanders
  • 7. Caleb Windsor
  • 8. Daniel Curtin
  • 9. Ethan Read (academy selection)
  • 10. Nate Caddy
  • 11. Connor O'Sullivan
  • 12. Phoenix Gothard
  • 13. Koltyn Tholstrup
  • 14. Jake Rogers (academy selection)
  • 15. Jordan Croft (F/S)
  • 16. Will Green
  • 17. James Leake
  • 18. Darcy Wilson
  • 19. Will McCabe (F/S)
  • 20. Taylor Goad
  • 21. Charlie Edwards
  • 22. Wil Dawson
  • 23. Riley Hardeman
  • 24. Caiden Cleary (academy selection)
  • 25. Harry DeMattia
  • 26. Will Graham (academy selection)
  • 27. Oscar Ryan
  • 28. Lance Collard
  • 29. Ashton Moir
Second round
  • 30. Archer Reid
  • 31. Logan Morris
  • 32. Mitchell Edwards
  • 33. Angus Hastie
  • 34. Billy Wilson
  • 35. Cooper Simpson
  • 36. Shaun Mannagh
  • 37. Tew Jiath
  • 38. Clay Hall
  • 39. Luamon Lual
  • 40. Kane McAuliffe
  • 41. Ollie Murphy
  • 42. Luke Lloyd
  • 43. Liam Fawcett
  • 44. Joseph Fonti
Third round
  • 45. Joel Freijah
  • 46. Bodie Ryan
  • 47. Lachlan Smith
  • 48. Thomas Anastasopoulos
  • 49. Harvey Johnston
  • 50. Hugo Garcia
  • 51. Zane Zakostelsky
  • 52. Lachlan Charleson
Fourth round
  • 53. Patrick Snell
  • 54. Archie Roberts
  • 55. Aiden O'Driscoll
  • 56. Calsher Dear (F/S)
  • 57. Will Lorenz
  • 58. George Stevens
  • 59. Harvey Thomas (academy selection)
Fifth round
  • 60. Jack Delean
  • 61. Oliver Wiltshire
  • 62. Arie Schoenmaker
  • 63. Lawson Humphries
  • 64. Reece Torrent