The Medal

Blurb

… the strange thing that happened was I realised sport wasn’t my life. I realised that I had an abundance of sporting talent, but I took it for granted because it meant more to my fans than me.

Against the backdrop of community football, the heir to a sweeping family fortune and the son of a prominent bikie gang leader become unlikely friends. Billy Kickett and Lenny Leaper are from opposite sides of the track but as they compete in the same sport and vie for the same honours, they find their lives becoming entwined.

Under the shadow of their family’s bitter and contentious past, the two boys push each other to elevate their game to new heights. But in the brutal world of sporting competition, friendship and rivalry can become virtually indistinguishable. When Billy suffers an injury in a match scrimmage with his friend, both their lives, their families and their supporters are threatened with consequences they never expected.

In David Ryan’s The Medal, one moment catapults a friendship into a bitter rivalry from which there may be no return. In the passion and intensity of Australian Rules Football, the price for ambition is high and forgiveness has its limits. When all hope seems shattered, can meaning be found again?

Author Bio

David Ryan lives by the mantra that you don’t stop learning when you get old; you get old when you stop learning. He originally graduated with honours in Chemical Engineering, for which he received the Shell Prize, before studying a Bachelor of Arts part-time. He then received a Graduate Diploma in Applied Psychology, winning the Shell Prize once again for his work.

Harnessing his tiered education, David embarked on a career where he applied psychology to the technology sector. Working across various companies and institutions, including Shell, Toyota and the Department of Defence, David realised that businesses were failing to capitalise on the potential of their people. This realisation led him to start a highly-successful corporate consulting business for both the public and private sector where he generated organisational change, fostered team-building and enhanced leadership.

In his retirement, David returned once again to university and graduated at 75 with a PhD in Creative Writing. Driven by a fierce love of AFL, his PhD focused on exploring the relationships between football and community in Victoria. David was awarded his PhD titled Be a good Sport by the Vice Chancellor and Chancellor of Deakin University, both dedicated Cats supporters. In 2026, he is releasing two novels, The Surrender and The Medal, in which he explores the depth of the human condition and the simultaneous strength and frailty of human relationships.

David is married to an awarded non-Executive Director, has three awesome children (two of whom are Cats fans!) and four wonderful grandchildren.