Matthew Ryan is an Australian former rugby league

Rugby league

Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...

 footballer who played most of his career with the Canterbury Bulldogs

Canterbury Bulldogs

The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, as well as New South Wales Rugby League junior competitions...

 (1990 to 1998). Usually playing at centre, Fullback or on the wing, Ryan was a member of Canterbury's 1994 Grand Final-losing side as a reserve. The following season however, he and the Bulldogs won the 1995 ARL premiership grand final.

His brother, Mark Ryan, also played for the Bulldogs club.

In the 1997 Super League season

Super League (Australia) season 1997

The 1997 Super League season was the 90th season of professional rugby league football in Australia and the first and only to be run by the News Limited-controlled Super League organisation...

 Ryan was selected to represented New South Wales on three occasions in the Super League Tri-series

Super League Tri-series

The Super League Tri-series was a rugby league football tournament contested in 1997 between Queensland, New South Wales and New Zealand representative rugby league teams...

, scoring a try. That year he was also the Telstra premiership's leading try-scorer. Ryan later left the Bulldogs to play in the 1999 NRL season for the North Queensland Cowboys

North Queensland Cowboys

The North Queensland Cowboys are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Townsville, Queensland. They compete in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership...

.