If the AFL is known for one thing, it’s clubs wanting to keep players’ complex off-field business out of the headlines. And that’s especially true in Western Australia.
And yet a detail about Fremantle Dockers star Luke Ryan’s personal life is becoming impossible for the team to ignore.
And the funny thing is, it’s not even a scandal. Here goes… Ryan is a father of two.
The only wrinkle is that just one of his children is publicly known.
Here’s what we’re told: Ryan and a Perth woman welcomed a son together in March.
A Perth Now article from last October that revealed the pregnancy was later deleted.
Fremantle Dockers star Luke Ryan is a father of two, even though only one of his children is mentioned on his Wikipedia. The fact he has two children is said to be an ‘open secret’ in Perth
Ryan and the woman are no longer together, and the Doig Medalist’s Wikipedia states in vague terms that his ‘children include a son born in early 2026’.
The Mail this week uncovered claims that, during the woman’s pregnancy, Ryan discovered he was already a father to a daughter, born several years earlier.
There was no infidelity or any suggestion of impropriety, as the conception pre-dated Ryan’s relationship with the mother of his six-month-old son.
The Mail is told paternity of the daughter was not established until sometime last year.
Ryan, we are told, was initially ‘stressed’ by the discovery but has since embraced his role as a father to his daughter after learning of the genetic link.
However, we also understand it was an unexpected development for the mother of his baby son, who is now adjusting to the new situation.
In Perth’s gossipy football circles, Ryan being a dad of two has been described as ‘an open secret’ that many ‘can’t believe hasn’t been reported yet’.
Indeed, when the local press announced the pregnancy, the comments section included readers wondering why the headline said he was ‘expected to become a dad in February’, when it was widely understood he already was one.
Ryan and a Perth woman (above) welcomed a son together in March
The Mail has uncovered claims that, during the woman’s pregnancy, Ryan discovered he was already a father to a daughter, born several years earlier
‘Become a dad? What about his daughter?’ one person wrote.
‘Become a father next year? He already has a daughter,’ another added.
The Mail cannot find an active link to the Perth Now story, which suggests it was removed by the website’s editors.
However, traces and screenshots of the story remain online.
Ryan, 30, grew up in Melbourne and played local football for Maribyrnong Park before joining the Coburg Football Club in the VFL.
He was drafted by the Fremantle Dockers in 2016.
Representatives for Ryan and the Fremantle Dockers did not respond to repeated attempts for comment this week.
When the press announced the woman’s pregnancy, comments included readers wondering why the story said he was ‘expected to become a dad’, when it was known he already was one
A photo of the baby announcement made headlines in Perth before the story disappeared
Prior to publication, a lawyer acting for Ryan sent a brief letter that did not deny he was a father of two or address any of our questions.
The chatter about Ryan follows a string of football-related headlines in recent weeks.
On Tuesday, 7News AFL journalist Mitch Cleary admitted he kissed a Collingwood staff member while his fiancée Kate Watts was pregnant with their first child.
He issued an apology after the Mail was first to name him in relation to the online rumours circulating after Watts called him out in a since-deleted Instagram post.
Meanwhile, the Sydney Swans are still dealing with the fallout of the so-called ‘hotel incident’ at the Pullman East Melbourne after the Bloods’ MCG clash against Essendon on August 16.
Five players were stood down for drinking, partying and hiring strippers to their room.
