Cliff Lyons

For the stuntman and film actor, see Cliff Lyons (actor).

Cliff Lyons

Lyons at Australian rugby league centenary celebrations in 2008
Personal information
Nickname	Napper
Born	19 October 1961 (1961-10-19) Narrandera, New South Wales, Australia
Playing information
Height	178 cm (5 ft 10 in)
Weight	89 kg (14 st 0 lb)
Position	Five-eighth, Lock
Club
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1985	North Sydney	23	7	4	1	37
1985–86	Leeds
1986–87	Sheffield
1986–99	Manly-Warringah	309	80	5	6	336
	Total	332	87	9	7	373
Representative
Years	Team	Pld	T	G	FG	P
1987–91	New South Wales	6	1	0	0	4
1990–91	Australia	6	2	0	0	8
Source: Yesterday's Hero

Cliff Lyons (born 19 October 1961 in Narrandera, New South Wales) is an indigenous Australian former international-level rugby league footballer of the 1980s and 90s. A Clive Churchill Medallist and two-time Dally M Medallist, 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.

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 Eagles 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.

Biography

Born in Narrandera, the teenage Cliff Lyons moved to the Cronulla district as a boarder from the Tregear near Mount Druitt.

Playing career

1980s

Lyons 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.

Lyons First entered in the NSWRFL Premiership for the first time with the North Sydney Bears 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.

Lyons moved to Manly in 1986 and quickly became a favourite with the Brookvale Oval 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.

1990s

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 Ashes before going on to play in both Tests in France where in the second Test he was man-of-the-match.

Lyons toured Papua New Guinea 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.

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) and captained Australian Aborigines in an unofficial 'test' against Papua New Guinea in Cairns.

2000s

Cover of From the Bush to Brookvale The Cliff Lyons Story

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 Into his 40's Cliff's career continued with the Hornsby Lions and more recently the Narraweena Hawks.

Coaching career

Having coached Narraweena to consecutive premierships in the Manly A-Grade competition, Lyons joined moved into the NSW Cup as coach of the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles side just before the 2012 season.

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

References

• Whiticker, Alan (2000) From the Bush to Brookvale - the Cliff Lyons story, Gary Allen.

External links

• Cliff Lyons at stateoforigin.com.au
• Cliff Lyons - The Early Seasons at rl1908.com
• Cliff Lyons at yesterdayshero.com.au
• Cliff Lyons at menofleague.com
• Article at vibe.com.au
• Cliffy Lyons at Silvertails.net
• Cliff Lyons stats at rugbyleagueproject.com