Chris Bryan (born 6 March 1982 in

Melbourne, Australia Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a metropol ...

) is a former sportsman who played both

Australian rules football Australian football, also called Australian rules football or Aussie rules, or more simply football or footy, is a contact sport played between two teams of 18 players on an oval field, often a modified cricket ground. Points are scored by k ...

and

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

professionally. Bryan played in the

Australian Football League The Australian Football League (AFL) is the only fully professional competition of Australian rules football. Through the AFL Commission, the AFL also serves as the sport's governing body and is responsible for controlling the laws of the gam ...

from 2005 until 2009, and then in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

as a punter in 2010 and 2011.

Australian Football League

Bryan is the great grandson of dual premiership player, Ernest 'Snowy' Lumsden, who played 78 games for Collingwood from 1910 to 1920. Bryan's great uncle was Collingwood legend

Dick Lee Richard Lee Peng Boon (born 24 August 1956) is a Singaporean singer-songwriter, playwright and film director. Early life Lee was born to a Peranakan father, Lee Kip Lee, (who wrote for ''The Straits Times'') and his wife , Elizabeth Tan. He was th ...

. Bryan unsuccessfully trialled for the Collingwood rookie list in 2000 and spent the next 4 seasons playing in the VFL.

Carlton Blues

As a mature-aged recruit, Bryan was drafted in the sixth round (no.73 overall) by

Carlton Carlton may refer to: People * Carlton (name), a list of those with the given name or surname * Carlton (singer), English soul singer Carlton McCarthy * Carlton, a pen name used by Joseph Caldwell (1773–1835), American educator, Presbyterian ...

in the 2004 AFL Draft. Drafted as a 22 years old, Bryan was given a chance after showing enough at VFL level for both

Sandringham Sandringham can refer to: Places * Sandringham, New South Wales, Australia * Sandringham, Queensland, Australia * Sandringham, Victoria, Australia **Sandringham railway line **Sandringham railway station **Electoral district of Sandringham * Sand ...

and Frankston. He made his debut for Carlton in Round 11, 2005 against

Sydney Sydney ( ) is the capital city of the state of New South Wales, and the most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Sydney Harbour and extends about towards the Blue Mountain ...

and showed an immediate sign he was an aggressive and mobile ruckman, having 20 disposals and 17 hitouts. He played the next 11 games, before being omitted for the last round of 2005. In round 21 he amazingly had zero disposals, but managed a career high 20 hitouts. Bryan struggled in the 2006 season, as

Dylan McLaren Dylan McLaren (born 8 May 1982) is a former Australian rules footballer in the Australian Football League. He was recruited as the number 9 draft pick in the 2001 Preseason draft from Sale. He made his AFL debut for the Brisbane Lions in Rou ...

was recruited to fill the secondary ruck position behind

Barnaby French Barnaby French (born 25 November 1975) is a former professional Australian rules footballer. French attended Pembroke School in Adelaide. A champion junior rower, French was a member of the Australian under 23s rowing team. He gave up rowin ...

. Bryan played only five games, all towards the end of the season, was dropped to the VFL reserves for the finals. Bryan was delisted by Carlton after two seasons. During his time at Carlton, Bryan was noted for his long, left-foot kicking, and he often assumed responsibility for kick-ins. In response to this, Carlton fans would always chant "woof!" whenever Bryan kicked the ball; Bryan was the third Carlton player to receive the traditional chant, after

Val Perovic Vladimir "Val" Perovic ( hr, Perović; born 25 September 1953) is a former Australian rules footballer who played with St Kilda and Carlton in the VFL. Born in Croatia (at the time part of Yugoslavia), Perovic emigrated to Ballarat in Aust ...

in the 1980s and Ang Christou in the 1990s.

Collingwood Magpies

In 2007, Bryan nominated for the pre-season draft, and was selected by Collingwood with their 8th pick. Bryan made his debut for the Magpies in Collingwood's annual clash against

Essendon Essendon may refer to: Australia *Electoral district of Essendon *Electoral district of Essendon and Flemington *Essendon, Victoria **Essendon railway station **Essendon Airport *Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League United King ...

Anzac Day , image = Dawn service gnangarra 03.jpg , caption = Anzac Day Dawn Service at Kings Park, Western Australia, 25 April 2009, 94th anniversary. , observedby = Australia Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Cook Islands New ...

. A week later he played his best game in his short career, having 15 touches, 9 marks and kicking 3 goals at

AAMI Stadium Football Park, known commercially as AAMI Stadium, was an Australian rules football stadium located in West Lakes, a western suburb of Adelaide, the state capital of South Australia, Australia. It was built in 1973 by the South Australian Nat ...

against

Adelaide Adelaide ( ) is the capital city of South Australia, the state's largest city and the fifth-most populous city in Australia. "Adelaide" may refer to either Greater Adelaide (including the Adelaide Hills) or the Adelaide city centre. The dem ...

. Bryan was called up for an injured

Josh Fraser Josh is a masculine given name, frequently a diminutive (hypocorism) of the given names Joshua or Joseph, though since the 1970s, it has increasingly become a full name on its own. It may refer to: People A–J * "Josh", an early pseudonym of S ...

in a Semi-Final against

West Coast West Coast or west coast may refer to: Geography Australia * Western Australia *Regions of South Australia#Weather forecasting, West Coast of South Australia * West Coast, Tasmania **West Coast Range, mountain range in the region Canada * Britis ...

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

, a famous game that saw Bryan kick a vital goal in extra time. Bryan played the following game in the preliminary final, 5-point loss, against eventual 2007 premiers

Geelong Geelong ( ) (Wathawurrung: ''Djilang''/''Djalang'') is a port city in the southeastern Australian state of Victoria, located at the eastern end of Corio Bay (the smaller western portion of Port Phillip Bay) and the left bank of Barwon River, ...

. Bryan managed 12 games in his first season with his new club. In 2008, Bryan played a further 17 games, including an elimination final against

the Crows The Crows were an American R&B singing group formed in 1951 who achieved commercial success in the 1950s. The group's first single and only hit, " Gee", released in June 1953, has been credited with being the first rock n’ roll hit by a rock ...

in Adelaide and a semifinal against St Kilda. Bryan played in round one of the 2009 season, his last game at AFL level. Bryan played the remainder of 2009 in the VFL and was de-listed by the Magpies at the conclusion of the season. In late October, Bryan was invited to train with

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

in the hope that he might be drafted by the club who at the time were in need of a ruck. However, Bryan was not drafted.

National Football League

Green Bay Packers

In February 2010, after training with Nathan Chapman and John Smith of ProKick Australia, it was revealed Bryan was close to signing a deal with one of a number of NFL teams in the United States as a punter. Bryan was signed to a three-year contract by the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

on 16 March 2010. After participating in the Green Bay Rookie Mini-Camp, OTAs Organised Team Activities) and the pre-season, Bryan was released by the team on 4 September 2010.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

On 6 September 2010, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers signed Bryan to a three-year contract and waived rookie punter Brent Bowden. Bryan played his first regular-season NFL game against the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

on 12 September at

Raymond James Stadium Raymond James Stadium is a multi-purpose stadium in Tampa, Florida that opened in 1998 and is home to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL) and the University of South Florida (USF) Bulls college football program. The se ...

, in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

. He was waived by Buccaneers on 13 October 2010 and replaced by Robert Malone.

New York Jets

Bryan was signed by the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The J ...

on 29 July 2011 to compete with incumbent

T. J. Conley Timothy Joseph “T. J.” Conley Jr. (born August 29, 1985) is an American football punter who currently is a free agent. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the New York Jets in 2009. He played college football at Idaho. Professional ...

. He was waived on 30 August.

Post-career

Bryan returned to Melbourne and to Australian rules football in 2012, and was signed as senior playing coach of the Keysborough Football Club, where he had played his junior football, in the Casey-Cardinia division of the

Mornington Peninsula Nepean Football League The Mornington Peninsula Nepean Football League (abbreviated "MPNFL") is an Australian rules football competition, governed by the AFL South East. The MPNFL contains teams near the south eastern region of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. At the ...

for the 2013 and 2014 seasons. He switched to the Peninsula Division's Bonbeach Football Club as a playing assistant coach in 2015.

References

External links

*
NFL statistics at nfl.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bryan, Chris 1982 births Australian rules football players that played in the NFL Living people Carlton Football Club players Collingwood Football Club players Frankston Football Club players American football punters Tampa Bay Buccaneers players New York Jets players Australian expatriate sportspeople in the United States Footballers who switched code Australian players of American football Sportspeople from Melbourne Green Bay Packers players Australian rules footballers from Melbourne