But beyond his striking size, Ryan possesses an impressive combination of football smarts, athleticism and work ethic, making him one of the competition's premier ruckmen.

Ryan travels from Mount Gambier to play for the Saints, but he doesn't use distance as an excuse.

"I've found over the years it's easy for travelling players to take it easy, play on game day then go home and rest for the week," Ryan said.

"So I've always prided myself at Edenhope-Apsley about putting in the extra work, not cutting any corners.

"I find that if I don't come up with excuses, it means the locals and everyone else really can't come up with any excuses."

Ryan's dedication to football certainly paid off in 2018, as he won Edenhope-Apsley's club best and fairest and helped guide the side to a preliminary final.

After overcoming a pinched nerve in his back, Ryan has again been a key player for the Saints this season in their journey toward finals.

Edenhope-Apsley have won five of their last six matches and last week seized second place on the ladder.

"We had a few injuries early on, but the last few weeks we've had nearly everyone available," Ryan said.

"So we're looking to have a really good run at it from here. We've played every team once now, and it's become a reality that we can make the top two."

Edenhope-Apsley showed their potency last season with a blistering run into the preliminary final after finishing fourth.

Ryan said the side were determined to go even further this year.

"You can tell the boys are a lot hungrier this year," he said. "We had so much momentum going into that prelim against Kalkee ... but they really busted our tyres.

"We definitely want to go further this time, and getting into second spot and getting the double chance to make the grand final could be really important."

After growing up in Edenhope, Ryan joined Edenhope-Apsley as a senior player in 2016, but returned to Mount Gambier the following year.

Ryan returned once more to the Saints in 2018 as an assistant coach, and he said it's been a special place to play his football ever since.

"I'm originally an Edenhope boy," Ryan said.

"Growing up my old man would always take me down to the oval to watch the seniors play, and now it's really great to be one of the blokes the little fellas are looking up to.

"To be able to play senior football and win the best and fairest for the club last year, it was pretty special."

The Saints travel to take on Pimpino this weekend.

In other contests, Swifts will try to turn the tables on Natimuk United away from home. The two sides met in round one, with Natimuk United winning in a tight encounter.

Kalkee come off the bye to face the toughest test in the league against Harrow-Balmoral, Noradjuha-Quantong host Laharum, while Taylors Lake might just fancy their chances at home against Rupanyup.