And that battle is not just against the man standing opposite him as the umpire holds the ball aloft at the first bounce, although that can often be daunting enough.
At times over the past few years, Bryan’s battle has been about impressing coaching staff at each of his clubs, Carlton and now Collingwood.
With a maximum of two rucking positions on offer in any AFL side up for grabs each week, all big men know they have to make every minute of game time count.
A quick browse of Collingwood’s list shows Bryan’s name pitted alongside the likes of Josh Fraser and the highly-touted Cameron Wood.
And as Bryan acknowledges, three doesn’t go into two.
“There’s me, Fraser and Woody … so when you’ve got three guys competing for the one or two spots it always puts pressure on you to perform.
“If you’re not playing well, then your spot in the side’s questionable.
“It’s good pressure; you need it to keep performing and it’s still happening this year, so hopefully again we can put pressure on each other and we’ll perform well.”
Two years earlier he had felt the cut-throat nature of top-flight football – moving from the Blues to Collingwood in search of greater opportunity – and, in the final year of his contract, he was eager to avoid switching clubs in search of another lifeline.
But after the Pies picked up the promising Wood from the Brisbane Lions, Bryan responded with his best season of AFL footy.
The pressure of having to perform obviously sat well with Bryan.
Injury had restricted his pre-season program ahead of both the 2007 and 2008 seasons.
However last year the tide started to turn for the long-kicking left-footer.
“I was pretty happy with last year,” he said.
“I played 17 games, which is the most I’ve ever played and I felt I really contributed.”
Those matches – his best return in one season – have done wonders for his confidence and given him the belief that he can be the No.1 ruckman at the Lexus Centre.
This summer things again seem to be going the right way for the big man, who is reaping the rewards from his first-ever full pre-season at the Lexus Centre.
He feels he is a step ahead of previous years. And at 26 – the age many believe a footballer to be entering his prime – Bryan is confident he can go to another level.
He knows he will at least have to replicate last year’s deeds if he wants to remain at the Lexus Centre.
“I’m just contracted for this year at the moment, so it’s another big one,” he said.
“I thought it was a bit of a negative when I signed the one-year deal but it’ll keep pressure on me to keep performing.”
So with the NAB Cup fast approaching and Bryan fit and raring to go, does he feel he has his teammates – Fraser and Wood – covered when it comes to the duel for ruck duties?
“I don’t know about that,” he said.
“It’s definitely exciting to have that battle … each one of us has got something different.
“I think that’s what they [the coaches] like. I’m not as tall as the other two so I’ve got to compete against them in other ways, when the ball hits the ground.
“I think I’ve got them covered, but you never know!”
