Peter Ryan (born 23 March 1971) is an Australian former

rugby league Rugby league football, commonly known as just rugby league and sometimes football, footy, rugby or league, is a full-contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular field measuring 68 metres (75 yards) wide and 11 ...

and

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

footballer who played in the 1990s and 2000s. A Queensland

State of Origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Ov ...

representative forward, he played ten seasons with the

Brisbane Broncos The Brisbane Broncos Rugby League Football Club Ltd., commonly referred to as the Broncos, is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Brisbane, Queensland. Founded in April 1987, the Broncos play in Australia's elite c ...

and finished his career playing rugby union for the

ACT Brumbies The ACT Brumbies (known from 2005–2022 as simply the Brumbies) is an Australian professional rugby union team based in Canberra, Australian Capital Territory (ACT), The team competes in Super Rugby and named for the feral horses which inh ...

Biography

Ryan attended

Downlands College , motto_translation = Strong in Faith , city = Toowoomba , state = Queensland , country = Australia , coordinates = , type = Private, secondar ...

Toowoomba Toowoomba ( , nicknamed 'The Garden City' and 'T-Bar') is a city in the Toowoomba Region of the Darling Downs, Queensland, Australia. It is west of Queensland's capital city Brisbane by road. The urban population of Toowoomba as of the 2021 ...

. After representing Australia in

as a schoolboy, he first played rugby league for Wattles Warriors in the TRL (Toowoomba Rugby League), before playing for the Brisbane Rugby League premiership's Western Suburbs club, Ryan moved to the Broncos in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

Professional playing career

In the weeks following Brisbane's inaugural premiership win Ryan travelled with the club to England, where he played from the interchange bench in the

1992 World Club Challenge The 1992 World Club Challenge match was contested by the 1991–92 Rugby Football League season champions Wigan and the 1992 NSWRL season's premiers, the Brisbane Broncos. The match took place on Friday night, 30 October in England, during th ...

against British champions

Wigan Wigan ( ) is a large town in Greater Manchester, England, on the River Douglas. The town is midway between the two cities of Manchester, to the south-east, and Liverpool, to the south-west. Bolton lies to the north-east and Warrington t ...

, helping Brisbane become the first NSWRL club to win the match in Britain. A handy utility forward, the following season he was part of Brisbane's 1993 Winfield Cup triumph. During the

1994 NSWRL season The 1994 NSWRL season (known as the 1994 Winfield Cup Premiership due to sponsorship from Winfield (cigarette), Winfield) was the eighty-seventh season of professional rugby league football in Australia. Sixteen clubs, including 14 from within the ...

, Ryan played from the interchange bench for defending premiers Brisbane when they hosted British champions

for the

1994 World Club Challenge The 1994 MMI World Club Challenge was a replay of the 1992 World Club Challenge, with 1993–94 Rugby Football League season champions Wigan facing the 1993 NSWRL season premiers, the Brisbane Broncos, this time in Australia. Wigan were cle ...

. Also during the 1994 season, Ryan was suspended for three matches after being found guilty of biting South Sydney player Jason Bell. In

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

Ryan debuted for

Queensland ) , nickname = Sunshine State , image_map = Queensland in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Queensland in Australia , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , establishe ...

and was named Brisbane's player of the year in a premiership-winning season, Ryan's second title with the club. Only a suspension, which ruled him out of the 1998 NRL grand final, denied him the opportunity of winning a third premiership with the Broncos in 1998. At the end of

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, Ryan left the Brisbane club to play rugby union with the

. Ryan was the first person in history to win grand finals in the NRL and the Super 12, as it was then known. This feat has since only been matched by Brad Thorn in 2008, and

Will Chambers William Chambers (born 26 May 1988) is an Australian professional rugby union footballer who previously played for the LA Giltinis in Major League Rugby (MLR) in the United States. After winning two titles with the Melbourne Storm, he retired ...

and Sonny Bill Williams in 2012. During 2001's pre-season,

Wendell Sailor Wendell Jermaine Sailor (born 16 July 1974) is an Australian former professional rugby footballer who represented his country in both rugby league and rugby union – a dual code international. In rugby league Sailor was a member of the succes ...

declared he was "leaning towards" switching codes from

following advice from former Broncos teammate Ryan.

Post-playing

During the 2000s Ryan, who has been described by

Craig Bellamy Craig Douglas Bellamy (born 13 July 1979) is a Welsh former professional footballer who played as a forward and is current assistant manager at EFL Championship side Burnley. Born in Cardiff, Bellamy began his senior playing career with Norw ...

as "one of the most devastating defenders to have played the game", returned to the

as a part-time defence coach. Renowned during his playing days for his tough and uncompromising tackling technique, Ryan was appointed as a 'contact' coach for the

North Queensland Cowboys The North Queensland Cowboys is an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, the largest town in North Queensland. They compete in Australia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League (NRL). Sinc ...

before switching to a similar role with the

rugby union team in Super Rugby. He was signed as defensive coach of the

Queensland Reds The Queensland Reds is the rugby union team for the Australian state of Queensland that competes in the Southern Hemisphere's Super Rugby competition. Prior to 1996, they were a representative team selected from the rugby union club competitions ...

for the 2019 season.

References

External links

Peter Ryan stats at rugbyleagueproject.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Peter 1971 births Living people Australian rugby league players Australian rugby league coaches Rugby league players from Ipswich, Queensland Wests Panthers players Brisbane Broncos players Queensland Rugby League State of Origin players Australian rugby union players Australian rugby union coaches ACT Brumbies players Rugby league second-rows Rugby league locks