When the dust settles on 2020 and the football department reviews the most challenging year in history, one of the most satisfying elements would be the growth of lively small forward Liam Ryan.

The West Coast Eagles showman delighted fans with another spell-binding performance against Collingwood that saw him earn the mantle as his team’s best player.

Recognised earlier in the week when selected in the all-Australian team, Ryan has taken his game to another level this season. Not only is he a clever forward, but we works so hard up and down the ground that he is pivotal to the team’s performance.

As if to illustrate it, his best mark of the night came in the last quarter in the last line of defence.

He had 16 possessions – nine of them contested – and took six marks in another eye-catching display. The lithe aerialist also provided 10 pressure acts, an element of his game that to many pundits might go unnoticed.

In the last quarter the ever-evolving ‘Flyin’ Ryan also kicked a clutch set shot that breathed energy and excitement into the Eagles’ challenge. He is undoubtedly one of the bonafide stars of the AFL.