Add articles to your saved list and come back to them any time.<\/p>\n
Sometime after he came to the Brisbane Lions as an 18-year-old rookie at the end of 2010, Ryan Lester was given the nickname Froggy. Normally, he explains that he had a pet frog when he came to the club.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s not true.<\/p>\n
A couple of players gave an emoji to every player. For no apparent reason, Lester got a frog, but he took it several steps further on an end-of-season trip to Hong Kong, where he got a froggy tattoo \u201csomewhere on my body that you won\u2019t see it\u201d.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Ryan Lester is making the most of every game.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>AFL Photos<\/cite><\/p>\n This is probably the flashiest thing about Frog. Saturday\u2019s grand final will be his 180th game, testament more to his work ethic, character and persistence than natural talent.<\/p>\n Across his career, he\u2019s been dropped 17 times. He just keeps bouncing back.<\/p>\n Taking things one game at a time is a cliche in football. Lester, however, has always taken a longer view.<\/p>\n \u201cI got told early in my career \u2018you\u2019re here for a career, not a game\u2019, and that\u2019s always helped my mindset,\u201d he said on Monday of his career on the fringe.<\/p>\n At the end of last year, he was delisted by the Lions, then picked up again. Coach Chris Fagan made him VFL captain, but told him it would not hinder his senior selection prospects. Lester accepted, with no expectations, but the determination still burned.<\/p>\n In round 14, he won his spot back, and wouldn\u2019t let it go. On Saturday, he\u2019ll be a walk-up selection for his first grand final. Lester is trusted by his teammates and coaches: he\u2019s versatile, smart and unlikely to be fazed by big occasions.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s a good person, a really good leader and clearly a really good player as well,\u201d Lions midfield coach Jed Adcock said. \u201cYou just don\u2019t usually have your best years of footy when you hit 30, 31.\u201d<\/p>\n Lester celebrates with Cam Rayner after winning the VFL semi-final over Carlton in 2022.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>AFL Photos<\/cite><\/p>\n For the past four years, Lester has thrived on one-year contracts.<\/p>\n \u201cI go into every year thinking, \u2018righto, if this is my last year, what do I need to do so I\u2019m ready to transition?\u2019 After four years, I\u2019m more than ready to transition. It\u2019s just a bonus that I\u2019m still playing.\u201d<\/p>\n He quietly completed a Bachelor of Business, and works one day in insurance; his LinkedIn profile is already more impressive than his Wikipedia page.<\/p>\n He probably won\u2019t stay in football when his career does end. \u201cFor me to progress as a person, I feel like I need to try something different.\u201d<\/p>\n But the fire still burns. For the first seven years of his career, Lester was part of the glue that held the club together, \u201cwhen our biggest games were against the other three bottom teams that we could possibly win\u201d.<\/p>\n They were bleak times.<\/p>\n \u201cWe had guys leaving the club, and it didn\u2019t feel like good people were necessarily valued. Since \u2018Fages\u2019 got here, I\u2019ve felt like good people have been valued around the club more. I guess I\u2019ve benefited from that a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n All of this has made not only Lester\u2019s contribution to the club more appreciated, but Lester\u2019s appreciation of each game has risen, too: \u201cFor the first few games this year I had the attitude that every game could be my last, so go out and enjoy everything that comes with it.\u201d<\/p>\n Then Darcy Gardiner returned from injury. Lester was omitted, again, despite playing well. Gardiner was injured again; Lester was recalled.<\/p>\n \u201cI was kind of like, I\u2019ve got another opportunity, let\u2019s go out and show them I don\u2019t deserve to be dropped all the time,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Adcock said that showed the type of person Lester was.<\/p>\n \u201cHe didn\u2019t drop his bundle; he didn\u2019t sook it up. He just went to work, and it\u2019s been an amazing year for him.\u201d<\/p>\n In the past few days, Lester\u2019s phone has blown up. He\u2019s soaked it all in.<\/p>\n \u201cThere have been so many text messages of congratulations, and it\u2019s been great to share that joy with other people, that people are genuinely happy for me and the club,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n There\u2019s just one more game that counts now.<\/p>\n \u201cFor 10 years there was very little respect from the competition for Brisbane,\u201d he said. \u201cIt was all about what we did in the early 2000s, whereas now it\u2019s very much about what this side can do on Saturday.\u201d<\/p>\n Perhaps Lester will receive wider recognition and respect too.<\/p>\n Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for the Real Footy newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<\/p>\n
Most Viewed in Sport<\/h2>\n
From our partners<\/h3>\n