Kyabram product Garry Lyon was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame on Tuesday night.
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Kyabram’s very own footballing icon has been immortalised.
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Garry Lyon, a five-time All-Australian, legendary Melbourne skipper and trusted media voice, was inducted into the AFL Hall of Fame on Tuesday night.
Eight new inductees joined an illustrious list of hall of fame figures and the last name read out on the night at Melbourne’s Crown Palladium was none other than the former Demons forward.
Lyon was recruited from Kyabram Football Club as a schoolboy and debuted in 1986 with Melbourne Football Club.
From there, the rest is history.
The Bomber turned Demon went on to have a long and successful career in the VFL/AFL, kicking 426 goals in 226 games during his 14-year tenure.
Upon reflection on his time in the game, Lyon said his country toughness and never-say-die attitude carried him through all those years.
“At the end of my time, Neale Daniher was my last coach and he was talking about me to the group on my retirement and he said that his view of me, which might sound stupid, was that every time I ran on the ground, I tried, and that I tried as hard as I could every single time,” Lyon told AFL.com.au
“That's probably a really basic thing, but I was proud of that, because effort can vary a lot.
“I wasn’t a great mark and, while I had pretty good skills, if the best thing that people remember me for is that I tried hard every time and gave my best effort, I'll take that every day.”
Since retiring, Lyon has embarked on a distinguished media journey that has spanned radio, print and television, which has only furthered his reputation as an AFL great.
In short, he has been a fine advocate for the sport.
Lyon’s induction into the AFL Hall of Fame is a just reward for half-a-century spent in the game — and it all kicked off at Kyabram.
He was born in Devonport, Tasmania, but moved to the Goulburn Valley with his family during his early years and settled on Kyabram as his new home.
His father, former Hawthorn player Peter, was a massive inspiration to Lyon’s own story, as he indicated speaking with Fox Footy during Tuesday night’s ceremony.
Garry Lyon’s father Peter — who coached Kyabram to a premiership in 1975 — was a big inspiration.
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Bianca Mibus
“He is my hero and he was a footy coach and a great footy coach,” Lyon said.
“He played for Hawthorn for a couple of years and then went off coaching and I just dagged around behind him wherever he went as a young kid.
“He eventually coached a premiership at Kyabram in 1975, which was every bit as exciting as Melbourne’s premiership in 2021 for us.
“He was a coach and I was his shadow. I would sit up in match committees with him and listen to every single thing he did.”
It was evident Lyon was destined for the top, even as a junior.
He cut his teeth at Kyabram and established a reputation as a rising star for St Augustine’s Junior Football Club and was later named the captain of its best team of 50 years in 2015.
That led to swirling interest from the VFL and when Melbourne came a-calling Lyon never looked back.
“I could play footy and was playing good junior footy and Kyabram was slap bang in the heart of Melbourne’s recruiting zone,” he said.
“Kelly O’Donnell is in the room, he went before me as a Kyabram boy down to play with Melbourne and he was as big a star that came out of Kyabram, so I followed his career so closely.
“All I ever wanted to do was get to Melbourne to play.”
