GRYAN Miers grew up wanting to do exactly what he is doing right now. But when it’s all over, the young cat already has a plan in place for what’s next.
At 23, life after football might not last another seven or eight years – maybe even a decade, if all goes according to plan – but it will still involve watching lots of football across the country.
When Miers fractured his fibula in the seventh round last season – and again at the end of the season – he walked to the recruiting department inside the GMHBA stadium and asked to be put to work .
Under the watch of Geelong roster boss Andrew Mackie, veteran talent scout Stephen Wells and scout Liam Woodland, Miers was given projects to analyze player types – live and on computer – and write reports on leads.
Miers ended up writing reports on four players Geelong drafted last November after watching the NAB League and school games, where he watched Ollie Dempsey play for Carey Grammar before the Cats made him one of the biggest surprise pick of 2021.
It’s safe to say that the Geelong Falcons product has caught the recruiting bug, just as Hawthorn star James Sicily did during his 18 months on the sidelines while recovering from a heart tear. ACL. Members of Geelong’s recruitment team believe Miers has an eye for spotting talent, a great understanding of the game and the lanes.
But for now, Miers will put that job on the back burner on Friday night when the Cats go to work against Brisbane in another preliminary round – No.8 in 12 years under Chris Scott – at the MCG.
“Last year was the first injury I had in my career and I was like, ‘OK, at any time, your whole career could change, it could change this weekend, you could get injured or you could just never come back to the team “I always want to be ready,” Miers told AFL.com.au at the GMHBA Stadium this week.
“I want to stay in football. I’m very lucky to have people around me who are in the fields I want to enter and I use them as resources. Liam Woodland has helped me a lot this year. L “My goal is to be a List Manager one day at this point. You never really know where your career will take you, but I do know recruiting is one way to go.”
“Every time I’ve been injured in the last couple of years I’ve gone to under-18 champions or games or watched the vision at home and reported on it. is pretty funny i did some reporting on four of our recruits last year about what i like about them and what i don’t like about them now they are some of my best friends so it It’s very interesting and pretty awesome to have this opportunity.”
Since joining the Cats via the No. 57 pick in the 2017 NAB AFL Draft, Miers’ role has evolved from a crafty goalie to a more hybrid forward over the past two seasons, following the acquisition of Jeremy Cameron at the end of 2020. and the market signing of Tyson Stengle less than 12 months ago.
With Cameron earning a third All-Australian Blazer – and nearly earning a second Coleman – and Stengle moving from scrap to Team of the Year in his first season at Kardinia Park – plus a fifth All-Australian selection for Tom Hawkins at age 34, there has been much less talk of goals and impact on the scoreboard for Miers in 2022.
“That changed this year with the addition of Tyson Stengle this year and Jeremy Cameron last year. When I was playing last year and ‘Jezza’ wasn’t playing and vice versa. It’s different again this year “, did he declare.
“When I arrived I probably had more of a fixed role over the past few years, we had a defined forward line and pretty much the same seven played every week for three straight years. This year I I’m more of a hybrid, Filling the roles of others when they’re on the bench or tired because I know attacking structures very well and I feel like I can contribute that way. That’s what I did this year .
The way Cameron and Stengle were recruited by Geelong couldn’t have been much different – one cost a fortune, the other was a delisted free agent – is not lost on Miers, who likes the different ways to acquire skills in this game.
After breaking into the Geelong team for the first time in the 2019 first round, Miers has played 81 times in the famous hoops, including the 2020 Grand Final at the Gabba around 10 other final appearances.
Although not the same scene, Miers produced one of the most famous performances of the TAC Cup Grand Final when he scored seven goals to help the Falcons win the Premiership. minister in 2017, in a performance that still fuels his confidence.
“It’s a bit cliché, but this weekend it’s just another game of football, just with a bit more intensity and more fans watching. Growing up, I was always a great player , or so I thought. I basically got drafted on the back of my performance in the TAC Cup Grand Final and then the AFL experience, that helps. But it’s a new game, so playing well last week doesn’t help. We’ll have to come out and play our parts,” he said.
“The TAC Cup Grand Final was not just an easy win, we only won because they missed a goal after the siren, so it was a hard fought win. I really scored kinda lucky goals but it showed what I can do and it showed I’m not impressed with the moment Really my career has relied on that moment to deliver so I don’t know why I can’t keep doing this. I look back and think I can keep doing this.”
When the 2022 season finally comes to an end, the Grovedale lad will turn his attention to the selections the Cats will make in November’s NAB AFL Draft. That can wait for now.