Dan Ryan (netball)

Dan Ryan

Personal information
Full name	Dan Ryan
Born	1984 (age 40–41) Melbourne, Victoria, Australia[1][2]
University	RMIT University
Netball career
Playing position(s): GA, GS
Years	Club team(s)	Apps
2000–2016	Victorian Cyclones
2019–	Knights
Years	National team(s)	Caps
2003–2016	Australian Sonix
Coaching career
Years	Team(s)
2003–2006	Corio
2013	Southern Force
2015–2016	Manchester Thunder
2016–2018	Adelaide Thunderbirds
2018–2021	Northern Ireland
2019–2021	Leeds Rhinos
2022–	West Coast Fever

Dan Ryan is an Australian netball player, coach, sports journalist and broadcaster. He is currently the head coach of the West Coast Fever in the Australian Suncorp Super Netball competition.^[3]

He was head coach of Manchester Thunder during the 2016 Netball Superleague season when they finished top of the table during the regular season and runners up in the grand final. He was subsequently head coach of Adelaide Thunderbirds for the 2017 and 2018 seasons. He was an assistant coach when Thunderbirds won the 2013 ANZ Championship and when Manchester Thunder won the 2019 Netball Superleague title. As a player, Ryan captained both the Victorian Cyclones and Australia Sonix men's netball teams. As a sports journalist and broadcaster, Ryan has worked for various organisations, including Network 10 and Sky Sports.

Early life, family and education

Ryan was raised in the Little River, Corio and Geelong areas of Victoria, Australia. He was one of four brothers. He was first inspired to play netball by his mother who played in local leagues. In 1992, at the age of 8, he began playing in Corio Netball Association competitions, initially in girls-only leagues. When he was 12 the association introduced mixed competitions.^{[4][5][6][7][8]} Between 2007 and 2011, Ryan attended RMIT University where he studied Communications and Journalism.^[9]

Playing career

At the age of 14, Ryan was selected to play for the Victorian Cyclones men's under-19 team and at 15 was playing for the senior team. In 2003, aged 18, he made his senior debut for Australia Sonix, the senior Australia men's team. Ryan went on to captain both the senior Victorian Cyclones and Australia Sonix men's teams.^{[4][5][6][7][8][10]} While still an active player, Ryan also began coaching. Between 2003 and 2006 he coached the senior netball team at Corio Community Sports Club^[11] While working in England, Ryan played for the Knights, a men's netball team. He made his Knights debut at the 2020 Big Showdown.^[12][13][14]

Sports Broadcaster

As a sports journalist and broadcaster, Ryan has worked for various organisations, including Network 10 and Sky Sports.

Years	Organisation	Role
2008	Geelong Advertiser[6]	Netball correspondent
2007–2008	Seven Network	Junior reporter for Seven News Melbourne
2009–2012	Network 10[1][4][5][6]	Worked as an ANZ Championship commentator. Served as a commentator and reporter at both the gymnastics and netball at the 2010 Commonwealth Games
2010	Sky Sports	Commentator at 2010 World Netball Series
2012	Fox Sports	Constellation Cup and Quad Series commentator
2012–2013	Tennis Australia	Presenter, commentator, scriptwriter. Worked on Australian Open coverage.
2014	Sky News Australia	Sports presenter/reporter
2019–	Sky Sports[15][16][17]	Netball pundit at the 2019 Netball World Cup

Source:^[9]

Coaching career

Adelaide Thunderbirds

Between 2012 and 2015, Ryan served an assistant coach at Adelaide Thunderbirds. In late 2011 he was approached by Thunderbirds head coach, Jane Woodlands-Thompson, and offered the job. He was subsequently a member of the Thunderbirds coaching staff when they won the 2013 ANZ Championship. ^[7][8] In 2013, while with Thunderbirds, Ryan also served as head coach for their Australian Netball League affiliate, Southern Force. ^[1][9][18] After a season away with Manchester Thunder, Ryan returned to Thunderbirds and served as head coach for the 2017 and 2018 seasons.^{[8][19][20][21]}

Manchester Thunder

In 2015 Ryan was appointed head coach of Manchester Thunder.^[1][18] During the 2016 Netball Superleague season he guided Thunder as they finished top of the table during the regular season and runners up in the grand final.^{[2][8][22][23]} He left Thunder to return to Adelaide Thunderbirds as head coach.^[19][20] Ryan re-joined Thunder for the 2019 season and served as an assistant coach to Karen Greig as Thunder won the title.^{[15][24][25][26][27]}

Northern Ireland

In November 2018 Ryan was appointed head coach of Northern Ireland.^[28][29] Ryan subsequently coached Northern Ireland at the 2019 Netball World Cup.^{[30][31][32][33]} In August 2019 it was announced that Ryan would continue to serve as Northern Ireland's head coach.^[34][35]

Ryan stepped down from the role in April 2021.^[36]

Tournaments	Place
2019 Netball World Cup[33][37][38]	10th
2019 European Netball Championship[39]

Leeds Rhinos

It August 2019 Ryan was appointed head coach of Leeds Rhinos as part of their preparations for joining the Netball Superleague in 2021.^{[14][40][41][42][43][44]}

Ryan left the Rhinos after the 2021 Netball Superleague season in which the club qualified for the finals series in fourth place, to return to Australia.^[45]

West Coast Fever

Ryan was appointed head coach of the West Coast Fever upon his return to Australia in September 2021. Ryan replaced incoming Australia Diamonds coach Stacey Marinkovich.^[3][46]

In his first season, Ryan would lead the Fever to the club's first Suncorp Super Netball premiership, with the team defeating Melbourne Vixens 70–59.^[47]

Honours

Head coach

Manchester Thunder

• Netball Superleague
  • Runners up: 2016

West Coast Fever

• Suncorp Super Netball
  • Premiers: 2022

References

1. "Thunder name new Coach". www.manchesterthunder.com. 19 June 2015. Retrieved 4 December 2015.
2. "Dan Ryan drawing on ANZ experience to lead Thunder to Superleague victory". www.manchesterthunder.com. 6 May 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
3. "West Coast Fever appoint new Head Coach". West Coast Fever. 6 September 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
4. "Brown in Test series". Geelong Advertiser. 13 October 2010. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
5. "Jayden not on his own". www.bendigoadvertiser.com.au. 15 June 2011. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
6. "Thunderbird Dan the man with a plan". Geelong Advertiser. 9 July 2013. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
7. "You have male: coach Ryan's in the pink". www.smh.com.au. 20 April 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
8. "Dan Ryan: Why 27 losses won't kill my dream". www.thenetballcoach.com. 11 July 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
9. "Dan Ryan:High Performance Netball Coach / Sports Broadcaster". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
10. "Cyclone 2013 teams announced". mensnetballvic.com.au. 5 February 2013. Archived from the original on 6 June 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
11. "Corio Football and Netball Club Inc". sportstg.com. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
12. "Ryan signs for Knights". www.thenetballshow.co.uk. 6 December 2019. Archived from the original on 6 June 2020. Retrieved 6 June 2020.
13. "Team Bath with perfect nine points after first day of BiG Showdown". netball.teambath.com. 7 December 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
14. "Camino de Santiago helps Dan Ryan move forward to brighter future". www.skysports.com. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
15. "Dan Ryan to leave Vitality Netball Superleague franchise Manchester Thunder". www.skysports.com. 17 June 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
16. "Dan Ryan: My lessons learned on the Camino de Santiago are helping me through lockdown". www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
17. "Dan Ryan - Netball Expert". www.skysports.com. 8 July 2019. Retrieved 7 June 2020.
18. "Manchester Thunder name Australian Dan Ryan as new head coach". www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk. 16 June 2015. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
19. "Dan Ryan to step down as Manchester Thunder Coach". www.manchesterthunder.com. 13 July 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
20. "Manchester Thunder statement on Dan Ryan's Departure". www.manchesterthunder.com. 15 July 2016. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
21. "The trouble with the Thunderbirds". www.smh.com.au. 27 June 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
22. "Surrey Storm beat Manchester Thunder to win Netball Superleague". www.skysports.com. 7 May 2016. Retrieved 7 May 2016.
23. "Grand Final: Manchester Thunder 53 v 55 Surrey Storm". www.manchesterthunder.co.uk. 8 May 2016. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
24. "Dan Ryan returns to Manchester Thunder". www.manchesterthunder.co.uk. 3 December 2018. Retrieved 7 March 2020.
25. "Dan Ryan returns to Manchester Thunder". www.netballsl.com. 3 December 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
26. "Dan Ryan returns to Manchester Thunder as assistant coach". www.skysports.com. 4 December 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
27. "Dan Ryan to leave Manchester Thunder". www.netballsl.com. 14 June 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
28. "Dan Ryan: Australian appointed as new Northern Ireland netball head coach". www.bbc.co.uk. 23 November 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
29. "New coach Ryan is fired up for quest to leave a lasting mark on NI netball". www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk. 22 December 2018. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
30. "Dan Ryan: 'World netball has never been as strong as what it is now'". www.bbc.co.uk. 3 April 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
31. "Netball World Cup 2019: Caroline O'Hanlon to lead Northern Ireland". www.bbc.co.uk. 30 May 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
32. "Dan Ryan: Taking Northern Ireland's amateurs into Netball World Cup is 'coaching in its purest form'". www.telegraph.co.uk. 11 July 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
33. "In pictures: Ryan optimistic on O'Hanlon head injury after Northern Ireland lose out to champions Australia in World Cup opener". www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk. 12 July 2019. Retrieved 20 December 2019.
34. "Dan Ryan: Australian to remain as Northern Ireland coach". www.bbc.co.uk. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
35. "Dan Ryan to continue as Northern Ireland head coach". www.skysports.com. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 5 June 2020.
36. McKendry, Adam (14 April 2021). "Northern Ireland Warriors dealt major blow as head coach Dan Ryan announces he will step down". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
37. "World Cup woes for Northern Ireland who now face New Zealand". www.irishnews.com. 16 July 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2020.
38. "'Tough pill to swallow': Northern Ireland finish Netball World Cup on a sour note". www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk. 22 July 2019. Retrieved 11 January 2020.
39. "NI suffer real blow in hunt for Euro delight". www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk. 28 September 2019. Retrieved 28 January 2020.
40. "Leeds Rhinos appoint Dan Ryan as Head Coach". www.netballsl.com. 2 August 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
41. "Dan Ryan: Australian appointed as Leeds Rhinos coach for Vitality Netball Superleague". www.bbc.co.uk. 2 August 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
42. "Leeds Rhinos Netball secure Dan Ryan as head coach". www.skysports.com. 19 August 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
43. "Dan Ryan ambitious to build professional environment at Leeds Rhinos Netball". www.skysports.com. 27 December 2019. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
44. "How Leeds Rhinos Netball bucked the trend with appointment of Dan Ryan". www.yorkshirepost.co.uk. 13 April 2020. Retrieved 4 June 2020.
45. "Vitality Netball Superleague: Dan Ryan leaves Leeds Rhinos Netball". skysports.com. 20 August 2021. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
46. Carter, Brittany (6 September 2021). "Dan Ryan returns to Australia as the new West Coast Fever netball head coach". abc.net.au. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
47. Vinall, Marnie (3 July 2022). "Fever claim a historic Super Netball title over Vixens". smh.com.au. Nine Media. Retrieved 4 November 2022.