Ryan Lonie
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| Personal Info | |
|---|---|
| Birth | March 4, 1983, Frankston, Victoria |
| Recruited from | Frankston Bombers/Dandenong U18
|
| Playing Career¹ | |
| Debut | Round 1, March 31, 2001, Collingwood vs. Hawthorn, at Melbourne Cricket Ground |
| Team(s) | Collingwood (2001-)
96 Games, 49 Goals |
| ¹ Statistics to end of 2005 season | |
| Career Highlights | |
AFL Rising Star Nominee 2001 |
|
Ryan Lonie (born March 4, 1983) is an Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League
Contents |
[edit] Early career
Lonie starred as a junior footballer with his twin brother Nathan (Hawthorn, now Port Adelaide). He has a raking left boot and superb pace and run on the football field that makes the crowd rise to the occasion when he gets the ball in space. Lonie played for the VFL club Frankston Bombers, before playing in the TAC Cup for the Dandenong Stingrays. He got snapped up in the 3rd round of the 2000 AFL Draft at number 34. He made his debut for the club wearing the number 37 guernsey and appeared a crowd favourite because of his asset, beautiful long left-foot kick and sets the scene when gets the ball in space on the win/half-forward in goal range. His debut season in 2001 saw him play 21 games, and was a standout in the group of youngsters. He earned an AFL Rising Star nomination and was one of the favourites to win, but Justin Koschitzke of St. Kilda proved slightly better.
[edit] 2002 Season
Lonie played 18 games in the season that saw Collingwood make the Finals for the first time in 7 seasons (since 1994). He had a disappointing start to the season, with miserable performances, where he got omitted for Round 10, but came back into the side in Round 16 and played the rest of the season. He did improve, yet wasn't convincing as a player who seemingly wasn't a fringe player. His final series was a turning-point in a career that was destined yet still not solid. He was one of the Magpies best performers in the Grand Final against the Brisbane Lions and the entire series, averaging just under 20 disposals.
[edit] 2003 Season
Lonie did play all 25 games of the season which saw the Pies to the Grand Final once again for the same result (a loss to Brisbane), but his form was consistently borderline. He continued to keep his spot in the side which made Collingwood supporters wonder why. He still kicked some great goals, his trademark goals on the run from 50, and catching the eyes of supporters with the "Lonie From 50" slow call when moving towards the fifty-metre line. His final series in 2003 was completely opposite to his best form of 2002, his finals series. He managed a dismal average of under 10 disposals in the 3 matches, and his Preliminary and Grand Finals produced no more than 5 touches.
[edit] 2004 Season
Ryan Lonie had moved out of the number 37 guernsey to see him line up in a new number 3 guernsey. He once again played all games for the season (22 games) as the Magpies crashed back to earth, and right back, into a bottom 3 position. Lonie had his best season of his short career, making better use of his time on the field, and continued to run hard and kick the important goals. He kicked 15 goals for the season, including 3 goals against Port Adelaide late in the season. He found the ball on more occasions than his past few seasons, averaging 12 disposals, still not good, but better than his borderline approach. He spent time in the forward line as a move that was made mid-season that worked against Brisbane.
[edit] 2005 Season
Only playing 10 games, he played most of the first half of the season at Williamstown. He got back into the side mid-season and had a good patch in the seniors when he was required to perform as his career was on the line, depending on the clubs performance, and proved late when several players, including Shane Woewodin got delisted. He suffered a minor knee injury against Fremantle missing the next three games, but came back for the seasons final game and was once again, not at his best, but he has retained his spot. Lonie's omission early on in the season ended a string of 59 consecutive matches, starting back in 2002.
