Gryan Miers has always been a footy head.

Even at two and three years old he would try desperately to be a part of the action, attempting to muscle in on his older brother’s Auskick sessions.

It’s been that obsession with the game, and that thirst for knowledge that has led directly to what’s shaping as a career year in 2023 for the Grovedale product who is this weekend celebrating his 100th game as well as a fresh three year contract extension that will keep him at GMHBA Stadium until at least the end of 2026.

Ask Miers himself though and there was more chance he would have ended up back at Burdoo Drive plying his trade for his beloved Tigers than leave the Cats.

If there was interest from other clubs, he wouldn’t have known about it.

“I'm a Geelong boy, very happy, fantastic place to be," he said this week. 

“There was one decision, if they didn't want me, who knows, I could have just ended up back at Grovedale," he laughed. "Very happy here.”

It hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the 24 year old after arriving at the club on the back of an exceptional draft year campaign with the Geelong Falcons. 

There was the 50 goal season as a small forward that led into a seven goal, beast afield performance in the Falcons’ 2017 TAC Cup premiership. By Round 8, 2019, he received a Rising Star Nomination. 

“I’m surprised how good it’s gone so far’, he said at the time, but challenges came, via injury, and a host of other hurdles that come with being an AFL footballer. 

But it was that dedication to his craft that can be traced back to those Auskick sessions, and the support around him both inside and outside the club, that have kept him focused.

“First credit to my Dad, because he was the OG in that department,” he said. 

“Then along the way, Shane O'Bree, my first year in the VFL I spent so much time with him. It was the hard conversations, which I loved, because I wasn't going great in my first year and he was just honest with him rather than buttering me up.

“Once I moved into the AFL team I had Corey Enright for four years, the last two years with Nigel Lappin have been fantastic also. Shannon Byrnes who just came last year, more small forward craft so him as well. 

“Then the players, everyone I've played with has been fantastic, but very blessed to play with Gary Ablett my first few years because just the patterns and the professionalism he played with helped me learn. “

Football has always been a constant in his life, Dad David, the inventor of the XBlades football boot, is also a football obsessive, and though some players will say they don’t watch much football on TV, Miers proudly proclaims he is the opposite. He loves the game, and he said it’s his obsession with it that has played a big part in his continued development.

“I'm not an athletic build, I'm more of a footy head that sees the game well, so knowing the little ins and outs can be pretty crucial for me to play well so I'm definitely happy to watch other players and see how they go about it and that's how I become the player I am and the different things I do.”

There's one thing in particular that is 'different' about Miers game. He says it’s less about modeling his game on others, and more about taking ‘little attributes’, and ‘trying to find what works for me.’ He loathes the idea of being a bad copy of another player's game.

Which leads us to that kicking style. 

There’s no more unique kick of the ball in the game, and despite almost every coach he’s had trying to change it, it’s now a key cog in the Geelong offensive machine. 

It’s no accident that Miers is now in shouting distance of Jason Akermanis’ 2004 Total Goal Assists record of 44 – Aker averaged 1.76 per game over 25 games - with Miers’ currently delivering 1.8 a game for a total of 28 so far. And his league-leading efficiency kicking the ball inside the forward 50 has caught the attention of the All-Australian selection panel this season.

That kick, and his ability to change its direction at will, is a weapon. 

“I don't think there's been a single coach until even my first year here that hasn't said 'change it, what are you doing, why are you doing that', he said.

“But the more time they spend with me or watch it or understand why I'm doing it, they seem to understand. 

“There's definitely kicks I get wrong as every player does, and I definitely shank a few as every player does but I know what's worked for me and it got me to where I am today.”