Ryan Bastinac Biography

Brisbane delist Ben Keays, Josh Walker and Ryan Bastinac.

"All three players have been dedicated contributors to our football club on and off the field over the last three to four years and we thank them for their contribution," Brisbane football boss David Noble said.

"As young men, they have all been a pleasure to have at our club where they have been well respected and liked by our playing group. It is always hard to let good people go and we would hope that Ryan, Ben and Josh get another opportunity through the delisted free agency mechanism."

Brisbane select Ryan Bastinac with pick No.4 in the 2018 Rookie Draft.

Ryan Bastinac credits his honest discussions with Lions coach Chris Fagan for his return to form in the second half of 2017.

"It was hard to take it, but you can either look at it negatively and go into your shell or you can look at it positively and work your backside off to get back in as soon as possible, and that's the approach I took," Bastinac said.

"When I came back (to the seniors) I felt the difference, I was more intense, I was impacting games, I was on my toes."

As he prepares to face his former side in North Melbourne, Ryan Bastinac said he moved to Brisbane for a fresh start.

"Things weren't going the way I would have liked and I got pushed out a fair bit and away from the role I'm good at," Bastinac said.

"The opportunity to come up here and be part of a young group, help some younger guys out and be a part of a pretty good midfield was something I couldn't go past."

After heading to the Brisbane Lions seeking greater playing opportunities, Ryan Bastinac says there are no hard feelings towards his former club North Melbourne.

"They brought some players in the last couple of years that have been great for them, Nick Dal Santo and Shaun Higgins, players that have helped the club, and I suppose they've been put in front of me," Bastinac said.

"It's hard, but North have done great … I wish them all the best and I've got so many great mates there - there's no hard feelings at all."

James Aish has finally made his way to Collingwood in a complicated three-way trade that will also send Ryan Bastinac to the Brisbane Lions.

Aish endured an agonising wait to see whether the Brisbane Lions would grant his requested move to the Holden Centre, with the Lions, Magpies and North Melbourne signing off on the deal just 90 minutes before the trade period ended at 2pm on Thursday.

In the deal that followed drawn-out, and at times tense, negotiations between the Lions and Pies:

- Collingwood received Aish and pick No.34 and 53, and gave up picks No.26, 28, 47 and a 2016 second-round pick;
- The Lions received Bastinac and picks No.38 and 40, a 2016 second-round pick (St Kilda) and a 2016 third-round pick (North), and gave up Aish and pick No.17; and
- North received picks No.17, 26, 28 and 47, and gave up Bastinac and picks No.34, 38, 40, 53 and its 2016 third-round pick.

Ryan Bastinac meets with Brisbane Lions officials to explore his playing options.

"'Basti' is up in Brisbane at the moment so he's having a look around, meeting the coach (Justin Leppitsch) and speaking to key people up there," Bastinac's manager Liam Pickering said.

"Brisbane was one of the clubs, but if there are other clubs that are interested in Ryan, we'd certainly talk to them at the moment.

"He certainly wasn't in the team come finals, so that was frustrating."

Kangaroos coach Brad Scott admits Ryan Bastinac has struggled to adjust to life in the new-look North Melbourne midfield headed by former Saint Nick Dal Santo.

"Ryan's been thrown around a little bit this year in different positions," Scott said.

"As we've explained to him, the best sides in the competition are proving to be extremely flexible and we're working on that as well.

"So, while his numbers aren't everything, I think once he adjusts to the way we're playing a bit better he'll pick up in the second half of the year."

North Melbourne has quashed rumours Ryan Bastinac is off to GWS, announcing a new deal with the midfielder.

"I am so happy to be a part of this club for another two years and hopefully we can go on and have some success," Bastinac told the Herald Sun.

"I love being around all the boys and the coaches here. I think we have a lot of good things to look forward to over the next few years [and] I am 100 per cent certain we are headed in the right direction."

North Melbourne midfielder Ryan Bastinac has put aside contract talks to focus on a good start to 2012, fueling GWS speculation.

"North have obviously showed interest in getting their good young players secured, but there's no rush for Ryan to sign anything at the moment," Bastinac's manager James Pitcher said.

"He missed a lot of football with injury last year so he wants to focus on getting ready for the start of the season and then playing as good a footy as he can."

North Melbourne coach Brad Scott says the club's culture should be enough to keep Ryan Bastinac from leaving.

"What I am confident in is that we've got a great environment. Our players want to stay and they are really excited about what the future holds at the football club," Scott told Melbourne radio station SEN.

"That's really all we can control - the environment the players work in and we think that's really good. If we hold up our end I'm sure Ryan will want to stay."

Kangaroos midfielder Ryan Bastinac says he will resist the overtures of GWS despite being out of contract in 2013.

"I'm really happy at the Roos and loving it," he said.

"The speculation is always going to come for people who are out of contract so you can't really do much about that except go about your business. You can't stop the speculation people bring up. You can't do much about it."

North Melbourne midfielder Ryan Bastinac's impressive return from knee surgery continues to gather momentum.

"I'm feeling really fit. I'm running out games pretty well I think," Bastinac said.

"It was pretty hard early. I didn't really expect much coming back from an injury like that. But it's good to finally hit some form again and run out games well."

Ryan Bastinac speaks to the Herald Sun about tearing his lateral meniscus cartilage during training which will sideline him for four months.

"I just went up for a spoil and landed on it and felt a click and I knew it wasn't good. The pain was pretty bad. I knew straight away I would need an operation," Bastinac said.

"I thought I was always pretty mentally strong, but having this really shows how strong you have to be in dealing with long-term injuries.

"I've just got to get on with it and move on because I was always going to have to deal with setbacks in my career. I'm feeling pretty good and I'm trying to take as many positives out of it as I can."

North Melbourne midfielder Ryan Bastinac will miss the start of the season after undergoing knee surgery to repair a lateral meniscal tear following a training mishap.

"We opted to repair it and retain as much of the cartilage as possible with the utmost consideration given to Ryan's long-term health," Kangaroos club doctor Dan Bates said.

"Ryan is very positive about the approach we've taken and his upcoming rehabilitation. While we may have taken a few games off the start of his year, this procedure will certainly be beneficial for him in the long-term."

North Melbourne midfielder Ryan Bastinac has moved on from a worrying December performance to win the club's first time trial of 2011.

"We were a bit concerned about him, to be honest, because he had such a heavy load last year," North Melbourne coach Brad Scott said.

"We backed him off over December and he's come back in terrific shape, so that's really pleasing."

North Melbourne draftee Ryan Bastinac says his goal in 2010 was to play every game despite his young age.

"At the start of the year, I told myself I wanted to play every game. That was just a little goal of mine," Bastinac said.

"I knew I had a lot of work to do to get there and a lot of people thought I was kidding myself. I didn't really tell that many people except my family, and people like that.

"Dad was just like, 'Oh, well, it would be good to get a few games'. I said, 'Why can't I play all 22?'. That's what I want to get to, so I'm working as hard as I can to get that goal."

North Melbourne teenager Ryan Bastinac earns a rising star nomination after doing a stellar job tagging West Coast star midfielder Daniel Kerr while gathering 24 touches himself.

"I asked Brady (Rawlings) if he'd played on Kerr but he's never played on him. He always used to take Chris Judd but Michael Firrito has spent some time on him. I spoke to him for a while and he gave me some advice. It was good to learn from those guys," Bastinac said.

North Melbourne teenager Ryan Bastinac impresses coach Brad Scott after making sure dangerous Eagle Daniel Kerr stayed stone cold while tagging him.

"I must admit, he surprised me because it was a better performance than even I thought," Scott said.

"His game was outstanding. I can't recall...a third-game player playing as well as that on one of the great midfielders of the competition."

Ryan Bastinac makes his AFL debut for North Melbourne at Football Park with 23 disposals (12 kicks and 11 handballs), 4 marks and 3 tackles in a 14-point loss to Port Adelaide.

Last year's number 21 draft pick Ryan Bastinac has impressed at the club and is set to make his debut against Port.

"He's been picked on form," Kangaroos coach Brad Scott said.

"He's come in and been exceptional in all his training and in the games he's played so far, so we're really excited for Ryan and he is too."