Cliff Lyons
Encyclopedia
Cliff Lyons is an indigenous Australian former international-level rugby league
footballer of the 1980s and 90s. A Clive Churchill Medal
list and two-time Dally M Medal
list, he made over 300 first-grade appearances with the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
, winning grand finals with them in 1987 and 1996, and also represented New South Wales and Australia.
coach Bob Fulton
started playing Lyons on a permanent basis and he quickly became a favourite son at the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
who gave him the nickname "God". Lyons success with the Sea Eagles, winning premierships in 1987 and 1996 saw him selected to the Manly Sea Eagles 60th Anniversary Dream Team in 2006. Lyons was named on the bench of the 17 man team.
Lyons was notable for his elusive cross-field runs, creating doubt in the minds of defenders and setting up gaps for support players to run back into. His most potent partnership was with Steven Menzies
, who was nicknamed, "Jesus" because he ran off the right hand of God.
midway through 1984, following his Riverina coach Greg Hawick
there for a 1985 start and one season where he played at centre. He then played in England in the Australian off-season with stays with Leeds (1985–86) and Sheffield Eagles
(1986–87). His small stature saw him targeted by rival forwards, but Lyons was tough enough to stand up for himself and there was no denying his talent at five-eighth.
crowds.
In 1987 Lyons featured in Manly's successful season under coach Bob Fulton and was prominent in the Grand Final
victory over Canberra
scoring one try, engineering another for Michael O'Connor and winning the Clive Churchill Medal
as man of the match. Following the grand final victory he travelled with Manly to England for the 1987 World Club Challenge
against their champions, Wigan
. Lyons then made his New South Wales rugby league team
debut in Game II of 1987 State of Origin series, taking over as the Blues' five-eighth at the end of the representative career of Brett Kenny
. Lyons also played in the 1987 game IV - that year's exhibition match in Los Angeles.
He appeared in two games of the 1988 State of Origin series, vying for the Blues' five-eighth position with Terry Lamb
.
before going on to play in both Tests in France where in the second Test he was man-of-the-match.
in 1991 and remained the focal point of the Manly attack with his deft ball skills and his authoritative bursts around the rucks. Cliff was particularly in his element in 'Sevens' competitions, winning the 'Player of the Competition' in 1994 and captaining an Aboriginal 'Dream Team' in the 1996 competition. Despite winning his second Gold 'Dally M' award in 1994, he missed selection for that year's Kangaroo tour.
January 1999 found him playing for Warringah in an RU Sevens competition but following the Sea Eagles' disastrous start to the 1999 season, he made a comeback with the club, passing the 300 first grade mark late in the season. He became the oldest player in the NRL at 37 years and 313 days. At the end of the year, he was named Aboriginal Sportsman of the Year (tied with Nicky Winmar
) and captained Australian Aborigines in an unofficial 'test' against Papua New Guinea in Cairns
.
In the year 2000 Lyons was awarded the Australian Sports Medal
for his contribution to Australia's international standing in rugby league. Cut from the newly-formed Northern Eagles
at year's end, he signed with Umina and captain-coached the Central Coast club in 2001, the year he celebrated his 40th birthday.
Lyons made a cameo appearance in the 2006 film, Footy Legends
.
He sat atop the table of Most 1st Grade games for Manly - at 309, only to be overtaken by Steve Menzies in 2007. He is over 40 games clear of his next rival Alan Thompson
Now into his 40's Cliff's career continued with the Hornsby Lions and more recently the Narraweena Hawks.
Rugby league
Rugby league football, usually called rugby league, is a full contact sport played by two teams of thirteen players on a rectangular grass field. One of the two codes of rugby football, it originated in England in 1895 by a split from Rugby Football Union over paying players...
footballer of the 1980s and 90s. A Clive Churchill Medal
Clive Churchill Medal
The Clive Churchill Medal has been presented to the man-of-the-match of the National Rugby League's annual Grand Final match ever since the 1986 season. The award was created to honour Clive Churchill, one of the greatest rugby league players in Australian history, following his death in 1985...
list and two-time Dally M Medal
Dally M Medal
The Dally M Medal is the premier individual award in the Australian rugby league competition, which is given to the player voted by sports commentators as the best and fairest in the competition for that year....
list, he made over 300 first-grade appearances with the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League's Telstra Premiership, the premier rugby league competition of Australasia...
, winning grand finals with them in 1987 and 1996, and also represented New South Wales and Australia.
Summary
Cliff Lyons, known as Napper or Cliffy to his mates, started his rugby league career playing Lock forward but was often moved into the five-eighth role which is where he was considered to be at his best. It was at five-eighth that Manly-Warringah Sea EaglesManly-Warringah Sea Eagles
The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League's Telstra Premiership, the premier rugby league competition of Australasia...
coach Bob Fulton
Bob Fulton
Robert "Bob" Fulton AM is an Australian rugby league football identity. Fulton played, coached, selected for and has commentated on the game with great success at the highest levels and has been named amongst Australia's greatest rugby league players of the 20th century.As a player Fulton won...
started playing Lyons on a permanent basis and he quickly became a favourite son at the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League's Telstra Premiership, the premier rugby league competition of Australasia...
who gave him the nickname "God". Lyons success with the Sea Eagles, winning premierships in 1987 and 1996 saw him selected to the Manly Sea Eagles 60th Anniversary Dream Team in 2006. Lyons was named on the bench of the 17 man team.
Lyons was notable for his elusive cross-field runs, creating doubt in the minds of defenders and setting up gaps for support players to run back into. His most potent partnership was with Steven Menzies
Steven Menzies
Steven "Steve" Menzies is an Australian professional rugby league footballer best known for his stellar career with the Manly Sea Eagles. He currently plays for the Catalans Dragons of the European Super League after agreeing a one-year deal which will be his final season in his professional...
, who was nicknamed, "Jesus" because he ran off the right hand of God.
Early career
Born in Narrandera, the teenage Cliff Lyons moved to the Cronulla district as a boarder from the Tregear near Mount Druitt. He was graded as a second rower with the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in 1981. He played with the Gundagai Tigers for three seasons from where he represented Riverina against New Zealand in 1982 and Great Britain in 1984.1984-1985 Norths and UK stint
Lyons signed with the North Sydney BearsNorth Sydney Bears
The North Sydney Bears are an Australian rugby league football club based in North Sydney, New South Wales. They currently compete in the New South Wales Cup, having exited the National Rugby League following the 1999 NRL season after 92 years of top-grade competition. The Bears are based on...
midway through 1984, following his Riverina coach Greg Hawick
Greg Hawick
Greg Hawick was an Australian rugby league footballer and coach. A fine utility back for the champion South Sydney Rabbitohs teams of the 1950s and a representative player in the Australian national side, he was named at five-eighth in the Australian 1950s rugby league team of the...
there for a 1985 start and one season where he played at centre. He then played in England in the Australian off-season with stays with Leeds (1985–86) and Sheffield Eagles
Sheffield Eagles
Sheffield Eagles RLFC are an English rugby league club based in the South Yorkshire city of Sheffield. They currently play in the Co-operative Championship. Their home games are played at Bramall Lane after leaving Don Valley Stadium in late 2009....
(1986–87). His small stature saw him targeted by rival forwards, but Lyons was tough enough to stand up for himself and there was no denying his talent at five-eighth.
1986-1988 Manly and State of Origin
He moved to Manly in 1986 and quickly became a favourite with the Brookvale OvalBrookvale Oval
Brookvale Oval is a sporting ground located within Brookvale Park at Brookvale, New South Wales, Australia. The ground is owned by Warringah Council and is primarily used by the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles rugby league team...
crowds.
In 1987 Lyons featured in Manly's successful season under coach Bob Fulton and was prominent in the Grand Final
Grand Final
Grand Final is a predominantly Australian sport term used to describe a match that decides a league champion.It originated in Victoria and South Australia and has become specifically significant Australian culture...
victory over Canberra
Canberra Raiders
The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership since 1982...
scoring one try, engineering another for Michael O'Connor and winning the Clive Churchill Medal
Clive Churchill Medal
The Clive Churchill Medal has been presented to the man-of-the-match of the National Rugby League's annual Grand Final match ever since the 1986 season. The award was created to honour Clive Churchill, one of the greatest rugby league players in Australian history, following his death in 1985...
as man of the match. Following the grand final victory he travelled with Manly to England for the 1987 World Club Challenge
1987 World Club Challenge
The 1987 World Club Challenge was only the second game of its kind to be played between Britain's and Australia's respective domestic rugby league champions...
against their champions, Wigan
Wigan Warriors
Wigan Warriors is an English rugby league club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester. The club's first team squad competes in the engage Super League and the team are the current Challenge Cup holders as of the 27th August 2011....
. Lyons then made his New South Wales rugby league team
New South Wales rugby league team
The New South Wales rugby league team has represented the Australian state of New South Wales in rugby league football since the sport's beginnings there in 1907. Administered by the New South Wales Rugby League, the team competes in the annual State of Origin series against arch-rivals, the...
debut in Game II of 1987 State of Origin series, taking over as the Blues' five-eighth at the end of the representative career of Brett Kenny
Brett Kenny
Brett Kenny is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 90s. He was a five-eighth for the Australian national team, the New South Wales Blues representative side and the Parramatta Eels. He played in 17 Tests, made 17 State of Origin appearances and won 4...
. Lyons also played in the 1987 game IV - that year's exhibition match in Los Angeles.
He appeared in two games of the 1988 State of Origin series, vying for the Blues' five-eighth position with Terry Lamb
Terry Lamb
Terry Lamb OAM, is an Australian retired professional rugby league footballer and coach. He played 349 games , with Wests , and Canterbury . Lamb was known for his support of the ball-carrier - his ability to be in the right place at the right time netted him 164 tries. This earned him the moniker...
.
1990 High point
Lyons' ability to set up tries for his support players with his unpredictable weaving runs saw him consistently win player awards, culminating in his 'breakthrough' season in 1990, age 29. After winning the coveted Gold 'Dally M' award for Player of the Year in the regular club season he received his call-up to the Australian Test team on the 1990 Kangaroo tour. Australia lost the first Test and Lyons was thrust into the second Test side . He repaid the faith shown in him by his former club coach Fulton by finishing one of the best team tries ever seen in a Test. He then produced a solid display in the third Test 14-0 shutout to take the AshesRugby League Ashes
The Ashes is the name given to the trophy awarded to the winner of a best-of-three series of rugby league football test series between Great Britain and Australia...
before going on to play in both Tests in France where in the second Test he was man-of-the-match.
Early 90s
Lyons toured Papua New GuineaPapua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea , officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is a country in Oceania, occupying the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and numerous offshore islands...
in 1991 and remained the focal point of the Manly attack with his deft ball skills and his authoritative bursts around the rucks. Cliff was particularly in his element in 'Sevens' competitions, winning the 'Player of the Competition' in 1994 and captaining an Aboriginal 'Dream Team' in the 1996 competition. Despite winning his second Gold 'Dally M' award in 1994, he missed selection for that year's Kangaroo tour.
Late 90s Three Grand Finals
Lyons resisted a lucrative offer from the Western Reds to stay with the Sea Eagles in 1995 and went on to play in three consecutive grand finals and win a premiership in 1996). At the end of the 1998 season, in which he was mainly used off the bench, Lyons reluctantly retired after not being offered a contract.January 1999 found him playing for Warringah in an RU Sevens competition but following the Sea Eagles' disastrous start to the 1999 season, he made a comeback with the club, passing the 300 first grade mark late in the season. He became the oldest player in the NRL at 37 years and 313 days. At the end of the year, he was named Aboriginal Sportsman of the Year (tied with Nicky Winmar
Nicky Winmar
Neil Elvis "Nicky" Winmar is a former Australian Footballer of an indigenous background who played for the St Kilda Football Club in the Australian Football League.- AFL career :...
) and captained Australian Aborigines in an unofficial 'test' against Papua New Guinea in Cairns
Cairns, Queensland
Cairns is a regional city in Far North Queensland, Australia, founded 1876. The city was named after William Wellington Cairns, then-current Governor of Queensland. It was formed to serve miners heading for the Hodgkinson River goldfield, but experienced a decline when an easier route was...
.
Career end
Australian Sports Medal
The Australian Sports Medal was an award given during 2000 to recognise achievements in Australian sport.Recipients of the award included competitors, coaches, sports scientists, office holders, and people who maintained sporting facilities and services. Over 18,000 Medals were...
for his contribution to Australia's international standing in rugby league. Cut from the newly-formed Northern Eagles
Northern Eagles
The Northern Eagles were a rugby league team, that competed in the National Rugby League between 2000 and 2002. The club was formed during the rationalisation process of the NRL by the merger of the North Sydney Bears and the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in 2000...
at year's end, he signed with Umina and captain-coached the Central Coast club in 2001, the year he celebrated his 40th birthday.
Lyons made a cameo appearance in the 2006 film, Footy Legends
Footy Legends
Footy Legends is a 2006 Australian film, directed, written and produced by Khoa Do, starring his older brother Anh Do, Angus Sampson, Emma Lung and Claudia Karvan. It was filmed in and around Sydney, Australia, mostly in the western suburbs...
.
He sat atop the table of Most 1st Grade games for Manly - at 309, only to be overtaken by Steve Menzies in 2007. He is over 40 games clear of his next rival Alan Thompson
Alan Thompson (rugby league)
Alan Thompson is a former professional rugby league footballer and coach. He played for the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles in the New South Wales Rugby League competition. He primarily played at five-eighth....
Now into his 40's Cliff's career continued with the Hornsby Lions and more recently the Narraweena Hawks.
Matches played
| Team | Matches | Years | Points |
|---|---|---|---|
| North Sydney | 23 | 1985 | 37 |
| Manly | 309 | 1986–1999 | 336 |
| NSW | 6 | 1987–1991 | 4 |
| Australia | 9 | 1990–1991 | 8 |