Ryan Lester
Australian rules footballer
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 2025 | |||
| Personal information | |||
| Full name | Ryan Lester | ||
| Nickname | Froggy | ||
| Born | 26 August 1992 | ||
| Original team | 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 | Defender | ||
| Club information | |||
| Current club | Brisbane Lions | ||
| Number | 35 | ||
| Playing career1 | |||
| Years | Club | Games (Goals) | |
| 2011– | Brisbane Lions | 234 (48) | |
|
1 Playing statistics correct to the end of Opening Round, 2026. | |||
| Career highlights | |||
| Sources: AFL Tables, AustralianFootball.com | |||
Early life
Ryan attended Glen Waverley Secondary College in Melbourne's Eastern suburbs.
AFL career
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
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
Updated to the end of Opening Round, 2026.[10]
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) | Votes | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | 0 |
| 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 | 0 |
| 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 | 0 |
| 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 | 0 |
| 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 | 0 |
| 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 | 0 |
| 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 | 1 |
| 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 | 0 |
| 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 | 0 |
| 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 | 0 |
| 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 | 0 |
| 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 | 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 | 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 | 0 |
| 2025# | Brisbane Lions | 35 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 223 | 110 | 333 | 142 | 51 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 8.6 | 4.2 | 12.8 | 5.5 | 2.0 | 0 |
| 2026 | Brisbane Lions | 35 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 8 | 24 | 9 | 1 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 16.0 | 8.0 | 24.0 | 9.0 | 1.0 | TBA |
| Career | 234 | 48 | 35 | 1964 | 1356 | 3320 | 1085 | 552 | 0.2 | 0.1 | 8.4 | 5.8 | 14.2 | 4.6 | 2.4 | 1 | ||
Notes
- 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.
