Garry Peter Lyon (born 13 September 1967) is a former professional Australian rules football player and was captain of the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Since his retirement from football, he has been mainly an Australian rules football media personality, featuring on television, radio and in newspapers. He has also coached during the

International Rules Series The International Rules Series is a senior men's international rules football competition between the Australia international rules football team (selected by the Australian Football League) and the Ireland international rules football team (se ...

. He is the most recent VFL/AFL player to kick ten goals in a finals match, having done so in the

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which sank in the Baltic Sea; Nelson ...

Second Semi-Final against Footscray, and the first since Geelong's

George Goninon George Goninon (born 18 April 1927) is a former Australian rules footballer in the Tasmanian North West Football Union (NWFU) and Victorian Football League (VFL). Goninon was Geelong's champion goalkicker at full-forward in the 1951 and 1952 ...

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

, 43 years prior.

Early life

Lyon, the son of former

Hawthorn Hawthorn or Hawthorns may refer to: Plants * '' Crataegus'' (hawthorn), a large genus of shrubs and trees in the family Rosaceae * ''Rhaphiolepis'' (hawthorn), a genus of about 15 species of evergreen shrubs and small trees in the family Rosace ...

player

Peter Lyon Peter Lyon (born 28 December 1941) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for Hawthorn in the Victorian Football League (VFL) during the 1960s. Career Lyon played with Eaglehawk originally, then went across to Deniliquin in 1961 ...

, was born in Devonport,

Tasmania ) , nickname = , image_map = Tasmania in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of Tasmania in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdi ...

. In his youth he moved to

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

Career

VFL/AFL

Lyon was recruited from the

Kyabram Football Club The Kyabram Football Netball Club, nicknamed the ''Bombers'', is an Australian rules football and netball club based in the town of Kyabram, Victoria. The club teams currently compete in the Goulburn Valley Football League (GVFL). Kyabram was ...

and debuted in 1986 with the Melbourne Football Club, playing in the 1988 VFL Grand Final. He quickly became a dominant player in the Victorian Football League (VFL), later renamed the Australian Football League (AFL), winning his first Melbourne best and fairest award in 1990. He became Melbourne's captain in 1991 and eventually became the longest-serving Melbourne captain in club history until he was released from the role after the 1997 season due to the club's belief that he would suffer from too many injuries. Lyon was known for playing with many back injuries, and his presence on the field despite such adversity saw him as an inspiration to teammates. Lyon finished his career having won two Melbourne best and fairest awards and being named in three

All-Australian team The All-Australian team is an all-star team of Australian rules footballers, selected by a panel at the end of each season. It represents a complete team, including an interchange bench, of the best-performed players during the season, led b ...

s. His career ended as a result of increasing back problems. A broken leg, footage of which was often played on ''

The AFL Footy Show ''The Footy Show'' was an Australian sports and variety entertainment television program which aired on the Nine Network. The show was dedicated to the Australian Football League (AFL) and Australian rules football. The show featured a panel o ...

'', ended his 1987 season. In the end, he finished with 226 VFL/AFL games and 426 goals in

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

, giving him the fourth-best all-time goal tally for a Melbourne player.

State of Origin

Lyon had a successful

State of Origin A State of Origin competition is a type of sporting event between players representing their state or territory. State of Origin began in Australian rules football on 8 October 1977 between Western Australia (WA) and Victoria, at Subiaco Ov ...

career for

, first being selected in 1988 against

Western Australia Western Australia (commonly abbreviated as WA) is a state of Australia occupying the western percent of the land area of Australia excluding external territories. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to th ...

. In 1989 he played in a famous game against

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...

, where

Tony Lockett Anthony Howard Lockett (born 9 March 1966) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the St Kilda Football Club and Sydney Swans in the Australian Football League (AFL). Nicknamed "Plugger", he is considered one of the greatest fu ...

Jason Dunstall Jason Hadfield Dunstall (born 14 August 1964) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Hawthorn Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). Dunstall is arguably the greatest Australian rules footballer to come from ...

and

Dermott Brereton Dermott Hugh Brereton (born 19 August 1964) is an Australian former professional Australian rules football player in the Australian Football League (AFL) who is regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation. Of Irish descent (his p ...

all played in the same forward line, performing well being named in the best players. In 1991, Lyon scored one goal against South Australia. He was selected again in 1992 against the same opposition. In 1993, he performed on the big stage in the

State of Origin Carnival Representative matches in Australian rules football are matches between representative teams played under the Australian rules football, Australian rules, most notably of the British colonisation of Australia, colonies and later States and ter ...

grand final against South Australia, kicking three goals and being named in the best players. In 1994, he was named Captain of Victoria, in what he has described as "a great honour". In 1995, he was named vice-captain against South Australia, scoring one goal. Lyon is a big supporter of Victoria and State of Origin and has said in reference to playing State of Origin that he "loved it". He is also a big supporter of State of Origin being reintroduced, and he has described training and playing with the best players in the game as a "dream come true" and "it took the experience of playing football to another level". He has said that the great players of today should be afforded the same honour.

Media career

Lyon's radio career began in the late 1990s on

3AW 3AW is a talkback radio station based in Melbourne. It broadcasts on 693 kHz AM. It began transmission on 22 February 1932 as Melbourne's fifth commercial radio station. The station is owned and operated by Nine Entertainment Co. Hist ...

, and in 2004 he hosted ''Morning Glory'' on

SEN 1116 1116 SEN (call sign 3AK) is an Australian radio station in Victoria. Owned and operated by Pacific Star Network, it broadcasts a sports radio format from Lower Plenty to Greater Melbourne. First broadcast on 29 November 1931 as 3AK, the st ...

. In 2005, he returned to 3AW, and he appeared on ''

Sports Today ''Sports Today'' is a long-running radio show on Melbourne, Australia radio station 3AW. It currently airs on Monday to Thursday from 6 pm to 8 pm and is hosted by Gerard Healy and Sam McClure. Previously, it was hosted by David Hookes and ...

'' as well as providing special comments for the station's AFL coverage. In 2007, Lyon moved to

Triple M Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 40 radio stations broadcasting a mainstream rock music format and 5 digital radio stations. The network dates back to ...

where he provided special comments on Friday Night and Saturday afternoon matches until the end of 2015. Lyon became a regular panelist on ''

'' late in his playing career. In 2006, alongside

James Brayshaw James Antony Brayshaw (born 11 May 1967) is an Australian media personality and retired cricketer working in television for the Seven Network and radio for Triple M. For Seven Sport, he hosts and calls Test cricket during summer and Australian F ...

, he took the hosting reins of the program after

Eddie McGuire Edward Joseph McGuire AM (born 29 October 1964) is an Australian television presenter, journalist and Australian Football League commentator. He is also an occasional '' Herald Sun'' newspaper columnist. He hosts Channel Nine’s Millionai ...

became CEO of the Nine Network. Previously he had worked alongside Brayshaw on '' The Sunday Footy Show'' and in 2005 on ''

Any Given Sunday ''Any Given Sunday'' is a 1999 American sports drama film directed by Oliver Stone depicting a fictional professional American football team. The film features an ensemble cast, including Al Pacino, Cameron Diaz, Dennis Quaid, Jamie Foxx, Jam ...

'', as well as being a presenter of the Melbourne Commonwealth Games 2006 coverage on Nine. In 2007 he became a panelist on the program '' Footy Classified''. Lyon is a columnist for ''

The Age ''The Age'' is a daily newspaper in Melbourne, Australia, that has been published since 1854. Owned and published by Nine Entertainment, ''The Age'' primarily serves Victoria, but copies also sell in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory ...

'' newspaper and has co-authored children's books, including those in the '' Specky Magee'' series with

Felice Arena Felice Arena is an Australian children's author, actor and playwright. He is best known for the bestselling and award-winning football-themed '' Specky Magee'' series; the action-packed bionic hero series ''Andy Roid''; the sports-themed ''Sp ...

In 2017, Lyon returned to SEN to co-host it’s breakfast program with

Tim Watson Timothy Michael Watson (born 13 July 1961) is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Essendon Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). After retiring from the game, he has continued working in the Australian footb ...

. Later that year, Lyon ended his long association with the Nine Network to join

Fox Footy Fox Footy (stylised as FOX FOOTY) is an Australian rules football subscription television channel dedicated to screening Australian rules football matches and related programming. It is owned by Fox Sports Pty Limited, operated out of their Me ...

as a commentator and panelist on On The Couch. In 2022, Lyon commenced hosting On The Couch in addition to Friday Night Football for the station. Following the Melbourne premiership win, Lyon had the honour of presenting the 2021 AFL premiership cup to captain

Max Gawn Max Gawn (born 30 December 1991) is a professional Australian rules footballer playing for the Melbourne Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). A ruckman, 208 cm tall and weighing 108 kg, Gawn is capable of contributing in both ...

and coach

Simon Goodwin Simon Goodwin (born 26 December 1976) is an Australian rules football coach and former player. He has been the senior coach of the Melbourne Football Club of the Australian Football League (AFL) since 2017. As a player, Goodwin tallied 275 AFL ...

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth i ...

following the Demons winning their first flag in 57 years.

Coaching

Since his retirement, Lyon has dabbled in coaching. He has coached the Australian international rules football team, debuting in 2001, and he remained coach for four successive seasons before being replaced by Kevin Sheedy. His International rules record is two wins from four games. While many thought he might be a future coach of the Melbourne Football Club, Lyon chose not to pursue this path. In 2009, he coached the Victorian under-16 representative side at the AFL championships.

Playing statistics

:Garry Lyon's player profile at AFL Tables
/ref> , - style="background-color: #EAEAEA" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 3 , , 20 , , 26 , , 18 , , 215 , , 65 , , 280 , , 70 , , , , 1.3 , , 0.9 , , 10.8 , , 3.3 , , 14.0 , , 3.5 , , , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 3 , , 18 , , 28 , , 20 , , 189 , , 76 , , 265 , , 69 , , 21 , , 1.6 , , 1.1 , , 10.5 , , 4.2 , , 14.7 , , 3.8 , , 1.2 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Bicenten ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 3 , , 22 , , 41 , , 30 , , 278 , , 82 , , 360 , , 110 , , 43 , , 1.9 , , 1.4 , , 12.6 , , 3.7 , , 16.4 , , 5.0 , , 2.0 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1989 File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxon Valdez oil tanker runs ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 3 , , 15 , , 20 , , 12 , , 230 , , 57 , , 287 , , 89 , , 18 , , 1.3 , , 0.8 , , 15.3 , , 3.8 , , 19.1 , , 5.9 , , 1.2 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of humanity on Earth, astrophysicist ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 3 , , 21 , , 13 , , 9 , , 284 , , 89 , , 373 , , 104 , , 47 , , 0.6 , , 0.4 , , 13.5 , , 4.2 , , 17.8 , , 5.0 , , 2.2 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phi ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 3 , , 18 , , 11 , , 11 , , 235 , , 125 , , 360 , , 79 , , 39 , , 0.6 , , 0.6 , , 13.1 , , 6.9 , , 20.0 , , 4.4 , , 2.2 , - style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 1992 , style="text-align:center;", , 3 , , 16 , , 30 , , 14 , , 211 , , 101 , , 312 , , 84 , , 34 , , 1.9 , , 0.9 , , 13.2 , , 6.3 , , 19.5 , , 5.3 , , 2.1 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1993 File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peacefu ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 3 , , 18 , , 36 , , 37 , , 242 , , 100 , , 342 , , 120 , , 17 , , 2.0 , , 2.1 , , 13.4 , , 5.6 , , 19.0 , , 6.7 , , 0.9 , -style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, style="text-align:center;", , 3 , , 24 , , 79 , , 47 , , 295 , , 80 , , 375 , , 151 , , 36 , , 3.3 , , 2.0 , , 12.3 , , 3.3 , , 15.6 , , 6.3 , , 1.5 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake str ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 3 , , 20 , , 77 , , 46 , , 233 , , 44 , , 277 , , 109 , , 25 , , 3.9 , , 2.3 , , 11.7 , , 2.2 , , 13.9 , , 5.5 , , 1.3 , -style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" , 1996 , style="text-align:center;", , 3 , , 6 , , 15 , , 8 , , 50 , , 11 , , 61 , , 25 , , 5 , , 2.5 , , 1.3 , , 8.3 , , 1.8 , , 10.2 , , 4.2 , , 0.8 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1997 File:1997 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The movie set of ''Titanic'', the highest-grossing movie in history at the time; '' Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'', is published; Comet Hale-Bopp passes by Earth and becomes one of ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 3 , , 5 , , 7 , , 8 , , 27 , , 6 , , 33 , , 13 , , 3 , , 1.4 , , 1.6 , , 5.4 , , 1.2 , , 6.6 , , 2.6 , , 0.6 , -style="background:#eaeaea;" ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

1998 1998 was designated as the ''International Year of the Ocean''. Events January * January 6 – The ''Lunar Prospector'' spacecraft is launched into orbit around the Moon, and later finds evidence for frozen water, in soil in permanently s ...

, style="text-align:center;", , 3 , , 21 , , 40 , , 17 , , 154 , , 56 , , 210 , , 71 , , 26 , , 1.9 , , 0.8 , , 7.3 , , 2.7 , , 10.0 , , 3.4 , , 1.2 , - ! scope="row" style="text-align:center" ,

, style="text-align:center;", , 3 , , 2 , , 3 , , 0 , , 13 , , 6 , , 19 , , 9 , , 1 , , 1.5 , , 0.0 , , 6.5 , , 3.0 , , 9.5 , , 4.5 , , 0.5 , - class="sortbottom" ! colspan=3, Career ! 226 ! 426 ! 277 ! 2656 ! 898 ! 3554 ! 1103 ! 315 ! 1.9 ! 1.2 ! 11.8 ! 4.0 ! 15.7 ! 4.9 ! 1.5

In popular culture

Australian cricketer

Nathan Lyon Nathan Michael Lyon (born 20 November 1987) is an Australian international cricketer. He made his Test debut in 2011 and plays domestic cricket for New South Wales. Lyon is an off spin bowler and a lower-order right-handed batsman. Considered ...

is nicknamed "Garry", after Garry Lyon.

References

External links

Elite Sports profileDemonWiki profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyon, Garry 1967 births Living people People from Devonport, Tasmania Melbourne Football Club players All-Australians (AFL) Australian sportswriters Australian children's writers Victorian State of Origin players Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Trophy winners Australian rules football commentators Australian television presenters Australian rules footballers from Melbourne Nine's Wide World of Sport People educated at Melbourne High School Melbourne Football Club captains Kyabram Football Club players Australian rules footballers from Tasmania Australia international rules football team coaches