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'Junkyard Dog' Ryan re-signs, braces for selection battle with Rebels' discards
By AAP
Instant Queensland Reds hit Tim Ryan has re-signed with the Super Rugby club for two years and the Junkyard Dog is ready to scrap for his place in the reinforced side.
The 20-year-old had two hat-tricks in his first four starts, and tallied nine tries from his first seven appearances as his fan club swelled and nickname gained traction.
The only Reds player boasting multiple hat-tricks was then tested at outside centre in off-season games against Wales and Tonga in July.
That versatility will be crucial in a stocked-up Reds side flush with backline talent after Wallabies winger Filipo Daugunu and former Australian rugby sevens star Lachie Anderson both arrived from the defunct Melbourne Rebels.
"That's perfect for me," Ryan said of the squeeze for spots.
"It will make me work harder in pre-season because I know I'll be fighting for a position."
Coach Les Kiss has been careful not to over-hype the breakout star but has been reassured by his work ethic away from the fanfare.
"We saw an explosion of Tim Ryan talent didn't we with the Junkyard Dog?" he said.
"It's really positive to see a winger like him as part of our program.
"The thing we love is his commitment to his craft. Every part of his preparation is strong and he has a great future because of that."
The season begins in February, a rematch of this year's Reds-Blues Anzac Day, 11-try thriller set to be confirmed for April 25 as part of today's fixture announcement.
The 11-team competition, thanks to the Rebels' demise, will still feature 14 regular-season fixtures but move to a six-team, rather than eight-team finals series.
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Latest Comments
i wouldnt call it a failure and wouldnt call it a success but even as they won three and lost three. breaking the wellington hodo something foster couldnt do
Go to commentsCane got involved in a scuffle in the 2nd test when NZ were under pressure and POM had a word with him which. This is normal on a rugby pitch. When the match was over hands were shaken respect was shown to NZ.
In Paris Ioane called the Irish captain a 'c**t' after the final whistle. Retallick abused POM and then Ioane twice abused Irelands supporters. Foster and Cane later supported this behaviour.
There is no equivalence between that and a bit of sledging during the match in Wellington. Apparently Ioane (and bizarrely NZ WAGs) continued to post taunts to Irish team members and supporters that evening. There is no way NZ were behaving that way over sledging. They were behaving that way over the loss of the NZ series.
There doesn't seem to be any chance of NZ showing honour and putting their hand up.
Hhowever, it would be nice if even one Kiwi could put their hand up.ans say, you know what happenned after the final whistle was disrespectful to Ireland. It was wrong, we dont disrespect Ireland.
It is clear that the series loss caused a massive amount of pain for NZ and for Foster. But you must understand this is not a reason to disrespect Ireland as NZ did after the final whistle.
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