The Queensland Reds winger announced himself with a hat-trick inside 14 brilliant minutes in his first start, against the Blues 12 months ago.
It sparked an incredible try-scoring run for the talent known as the 'Junkyard Dog', Ryan crossing for nine in his first seven appearances of the season.
In just four career starts he became the first Reds player to notch multiple hat-tricks.
But, 12 months on ahead of Friday's Anzac Day battle with the Blues at Suncorp Stadium, Ryan finds himself in a drought.
He has just one in six games this season but the 21-year-old fan favourite insists there's more to his output than that.
"I've put an emphasis on my defence, kicking, positioning in the backfield," he said on Tuesday.
"The momentum cycle and where to put the ball (when kicking) in certain spots in the game.
"There's a physical aspect there and I've put on a bit of weight.
"But I'm not really focusing on that, just trying to get better at footy.
"Everyone loves a try, but if the team's winning it doesn't matter if I score zero or three."
Almost forgotten in the madness of Ryan's feats last year was that the Reds led by nine points with 16 minutes to play, only to lose 41-34 courtesy of an 82nd-minute try.
The Blues then marched to their fourth Super Rugby title but have struggled this year, sitting outside the top six with a 3-6 record.
The Reds (5-3) were on top of the ladder earlier this month but have slipped to fourth after back-to-back losses.
A likely All Blacks-laden backline of Beauden Barrett, Caleb Clarke, Rieko Ioane and Mark Tele'a means the Reds will be on their toes.
"It's star-studded, that's for sure," Ryan said.
"You have to have that awareness they can pull anything out of anywhere and try to limit that capability.
"And I'm sure they're seeing a lot more vision of me this year … it's something I'm just going to have to adapt to and better myself as a player."
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