The family ties which kept ‘Junkyard Dog’ from rugby league’s clutches

Rugby league may have been the sport he grew up with, but Wallabies hopeful Tim Ryan has revealed he never entertained a career in the NRL, nor is a future code defection on his radar.

The Queensland Reds sensation was thrust into the spotlight following his Super Rugby Pacific debut in 2024, scoring a hat-trick against the Blues and another six tries across his next four games to capture Australia coach Joe Schmidt’s attention.

Known affectionately as ‘The Junkyard Dog’, Ryan was swayed to union when the Reds showed immediate interest in him during his high school years, as he followed his father in club rugby at Brothers.

While jumping between the rugby codes has become common – Zac Lomax, Joseph Aukuso-Suaalii, Angus Crichton and Mark Nawaqanitawase the most recent high-profile names – the rising winger said that thought had never crossed his mind.

“The Reds Academy had been in touch while I was at school, so I just thought it was a great opportunity for me, but I wanted to go through a club system at Brothers first following in my dad’s footsteps,” Ryan told this masthead.

“[Rugby league] was not serious at all, really. I just grew up playing junior rugby league and then once I got to about grade 10 union took over. I haven’t looked back.

“I love league and still watch it, but I love rugby union. I definitely haven’t even thought about crossing codes or anything like that.”

It did not take long for Schmidt to seek out Ryan in 2024 to discuss his Test future. At the time, the Wallabies’ honcho told the now 22-year-old he needed to mature physically before being considered for higher honours.

No conversations have followed, Ryan confirmed, but the young winger has since put on 10kg and cast aside a disappointing 2025, in which he scored just twice.

He was first called a “junkyard dog” by Reds teammates Ryan Smith and Matt Faessler when they appeared on a podcast, but said that was not responsible for raising expectations about his performance.

“When I first came into the squad, I was trying to earn my spot and just going pretty hard at training, and I’m obviously an under-sized guy playing a little bit above my weight,” he said.

“I think Fez [Faessler] just said ‘he’s got a bit of junkyard dog about him’ and our media team just took it,” Ryan said of his nickname.

“Really, the only pressure I put on is not letting my family down because I know it’s such a big family base and I have a lot of support around there.

“I want to put on a show for them, but everyone else I don’t really think of.”

Come 2026, and Ryan believes he has found greater balance in his game – crossing the white line eight times, but becoming more clinical in when to inject himself into the attack while establishing himself as a more capable defender.

He got an early lesson of what it took to be considered the best, taking the field in the Reds’ first defeat of the year against the Waratahs, in which Wallabies sensation Max Jorgensen put on a two-try clinic.

Ryan followed that up with a masterclass of his own the next week against the Highlanders, and said witnessing Jorgensen’s heroics served as the ultimate learning experienced.

“Definitely, he’s such an exciting player Jorgo, so I watch as much as I can – he’s obviously one of the Wallabies top backs, so he’s the guy you’re going up against for that top spot,” Ryan said.

“I honestly think my defence has been pretty solid for my whole career because I’ve come from a rugby league background where there’s a lot of defence, but it’s just that positioning and that difference with the wider channels and the reads.

“I feel like I’ve been a lot more consistent this year, whereas I probably lacked that last year when there were a few of those scenarios where the consistency dropped off. I’m still only young, and just being under a professional program for extra years has really helped me.”

Queensland will need to defy history on Saturday to keep their Super Rugby season alive, and become the only Australian side to beat a Kiwi outfit in a New Zealand-based final in the competition’s history.

But before the clash with the Chiefs, Ryan was defiant.

“It’s not really something we’ve talked about at all. All we’ve talked about is getting the job done and getting the win because we know we can with the playing group we’ve got,” Ryan said.

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