View source for Garry Lyon

{{short description|Australian rules footballer, born 1967}}
{{Use Australian English|date=August 2012}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox AFL biography
| name = Garry Lyon
| fullname = Garry Peter Lyon
| nickname = 
| caption = Lyon in 2008
| image =  Garry Lyon.jpg
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1967|09|13|df=y}}
| birth_place = [[Devonport, Tasmania]]
| originalteam = [[Kyabram Football Club|Kyabram]] ([[Goulburn Valley Football League|GVFL]])
| height = 193&nbsp;cm
| weight = 96&nbsp;kg
| position = Centre half-forward
| years1 = 1986–1999
| club1 = {{AFL Mel}}
| games_goals1 = 226 (426)
| sooyears1 = 1988–1995
| sooteam1 = [[Victoria Australian rules football team|Victoria]]
| soogames_goals1 = 10 {{0|00}}(9)
| coachyears1 = 2001–2004
| coachclub1 = [[Australia international rules football team|Australia]]
| coachgames_wins1 = 8 (2–5–1)
| careerhighlights = 
'''Club'''
*2× [[Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medal]]: 1990, 1994
*2× [[List of Melbourne Football Club leading goalkickers|Melbourne leading goalkicker]]: 1994, 1995
*5x [[All-Australian Team]]: 1989, 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995
*10 goals in a final: 1994
*[[Australian Football Media Association Player of the Year]]
*[[List of Melbourne Football Club captains|Melbourne captain]]: 1991–1997
*[[Melbourne Football Club#Honour board|Harold Ball Memorial Trophy]]: 1986
*[[Melbourne Football Club#Melbourne Team of the Century|Melbourne Team of the Century]] – <small>[[Australian rules football positions#Half-forward flank|Half-forward flank]]</small>
*[[Melbourne Football Club#Hall of Fame|Melbourne Hall of Fame]]
*[[Australian Football Hall of Fame]], inducted 2025
'''Representative'''
*Victoria captain: 1994
}}

'''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]]. He is the most recent VFL/AFL player to kick ten goals in a finals match, having done so in the [[1994]] Second Semi-Final against [[Western Bulldogs|Footscray]], and the first since Geelong's [[George Goninon]] in [[1951 VFL season|1951]], 43 years prior.

==Early life==
Lyon, the son of former [[Hawthorn Football Club|Hawthorn]] player [[Peter Lyon]], was born in [[Devonport, Tasmania|Devonport]], [[Tasmania]]. In his youth he moved to [[Victoria (state)|Victoria]]. He grew up in the Victorian town of [[Kyabram]] and played local football for [[Kyabram Football Club|Kyabram Bombers]]. His talent saw him scouted by the [[Melbourne Football Club]] as a zoned player<ref>{{Cite web |title=Garry Lyon |url=https://tgisport.com.au/talent/garry-lyon/ |access-date=2025-05-20 |website=TGI Sport}}</ref>. He completed his schooling at [[Melbourne High School]] after moving to [[Melbourne]] in his later years of school to pursue his sporting ambitions. 

==Career==

===VFL/AFL===
Lyon was recruited from the [[Kyabram Football Club]] 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 [[Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Medal|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 AFL season|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.<ref>[[Russell Holmesby|Holmesby, R.]] and [[Jim Main|Main, J.]] (2005). ''[[The Encyclopedia of AFL Footballers]]. {{ISBN|1-86350-243-2}}''</ref>

Lyon finished his career having won two Melbourne best and fairest awards and being named in three [[All-Australian team]]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]]'', ended his [[1987 VFL season|1987 season]]. In the end, he finished with 226 VFL/AFL games and 426 goals in [[1999 AFL season|1999]], giving him the fourth-best all-time goal tally for a Melbourne player.<ref>{{Cite web |title=AFL Tables - All Time Player List - Melbourne |url=https://afltables.com/afl/stats/alltime/melbourne.html |access-date=2022-12-08 |website=afltables.com}}</ref>

===State of Origin===
Lyon had a successful [[Interstate matches in Australian rules football|State of Origin]] career for [[Victoria Australian rules football team|Victoria]], first being selected in 1988 against [[Western Australia Australian rules football team|Western Australia]]. In 1989 he played in a [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8gFoXi-1zI famous game] against [[South Australia Australian rules football team|South Australia]], where [[Tony Lockett]], [[Jason Dunstall]] and [[Dermott Brereton]] all played in the same forward line, performing well being named in the best players.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://cedric.slv.vic.gov.au/view/action/nmets.do?DOCCHOICE=1930151.xml&dvs=1457177421385~618&locale=en_AU&search_terms=&adjacency=&VIEWER_URL=/view/action/nmets.do?&DELIVERY_RULE_ID=4&divType=&usePid1=true&usePid2=true|title=Digitised Resource Viewer|website=cedric.slv.vic.gov.au|access-date=2016-03-05}}</ref> 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 [[Interstate matches in Australian rules football#Australian National Football Carnival|State of Origin Carnival]] grand final against South Australia, kicking three goals and being named in the best players.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://cedric.slv.vic.gov.au/view/action/nmets.do?DOCCHOICE=2005971.xml&dvs=1457177114331~211&locale=en_AU&search_terms=&adjacency=&VIEWER_URL=/view/action/nmets.do?&DELIVERY_RULE_ID=4&divType=&usePid1=true&usePid2=true|title=Digitised Resource Viewer|website=cedric.slv.vic.gov.au|access-date=2016-03-05}}</ref> In 1994, he was named Captain of Victoria, in what he has described as "a great honour".<ref>{{Citation|last=The YouTube Rub|title=31/05/2014 The Origin of the Fraudulent Chief|date=2014-05-31|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uY8DU67l-xk |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/uY8DU67l-xk |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|access-date=2016-03-05}}{{cbignore}}</ref> In 1995, he was named vice-captain against South Australia, scoring one goal.<ref>{{Citation|last=SAfootballarchive|title=1995 State of Origin Victoria 18.12.120 d South Australia 8.9.57 (Ted Whitten Farewell game)|date=2012-03-06|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AsIhZVUOj_Y|access-date=2016-03-05}}{{cbignore}}{{Dead YouTube link|date=February 2022}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{Citation|last=The YouTube Rub|title=11/05/2012 State of Origin: Yes or No?|date=2012-05-11|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptQgBMOA7EA |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211221/ptQgBMOA7EA |archive-date=2021-12-21 |url-status=live|access-date=2016-03-05}}{{cbignore}}</ref> He is also a big supporter of State of Origin being reintroduced,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/no-stopping-the-pick-of-the-vics-20110617-1g83w.html|title=No stopping the pick of the Vics|last=Lyon|first=Garry|date=2011-06-18|newspaper=The Age|access-date=2016-03-05}}</ref> 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".<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/no-stopping-the-pick-of-the-vics-20110617-1g83w.html|title=No stopping the pick of the Vics|last=Lyon|first=Garry|date=2011-06-18|newspaper=The Age|access-date=2016-03-05}}</ref> He has said that the great players of today should be afforded the same honour.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/no-stopping-the-pick-of-the-vics-20110617-1g83w.html|title=No stopping the pick of the Vics|last=Lyon|first=Garry|date=2011-06-18|newspaper=The Age|access-date=2016-03-05}}</ref>

==Media career==
Lyon's media career began in the early 1990s when he hosted the AFL-themed [[Children's television series|children's program]] ''AFL Squadron''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ku6YX56MuLc |title=The Front Bar - 22 August 2019 |publisher=[[Seven Network]] (via [[YouTube]])|date= 22 August 2019 |access-date=7 Sep 2024}}</ref> He moved into radio in the late 1990s on [[3AW]], and in 2004 he hosted ''Morning Glory'' on [[SEN 1116]]. In 2005, he returned to 3AW, and he appeared on ''[[Sports Today]]'' as well as providing special comments for the station's AFL coverage. In 2007, Lyon moved to [[Triple M]] where he provided special comments on Friday Night and Saturday afternoon matches until the end of 2015.

Lyon became a regular panelist on ''[[The AFL Footy Show]]'' late in his playing career. In 2006, alongside [[James Brayshaw]], he took the hosting reins of the program after [[Eddie McGuire]] became CEO of the [[Nine Network]]. Previously he had worked alongside Brayshaw on ''[[The AFL Footy Show#The Sunday Footy Show|The Sunday Footy Show]]'' and in 2005 on ''[[Any Given Sunday (television show)|Any Given Sunday]]'', 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]]'' newspaper and has co-authored children's books, including those in the ''[[Specky Magee]]'' series with [[Felice Arena]].

[[File:Garry Lyon-Perth2021.jpg|thumb|Lyon during Melbourne premiership celebration ceremony in Perth in 2021.|right|200px]]

In 2017, Lyon returned to SEN to co-host its breakfast program with [[Tim Watson]]. Later that year, Lyon ended his long association with the [[Nine Network]] to join [[Fox Footy]] as a commentator and panelist on [[On the Couch (Australian TV series)|On The Couch]]. In 2022, Lyon commenced hosting [[On the Couch (Australian TV series)|On The Couch]] in addition to Friday Night Football for the station. In 2025, Lyon commenced co-hosting AFL 360 on Fox Footy alongside Gerard Whateley.

Following the Melbourne premiership win, Lyon had the honour of presenting the [[2021 AFL Grand Final|2021 AFL premiership cup]] to captain [[Max Gawn]] and coach [[Simon Goodwin]] in [[Perth]] following the Demons winning their first flag in 57 years.

==Coaching==
Since his retirement, Lyon has dabbled in coaching. He has coached the [[Australia international rules football team]], debuting in 2001, and he remained coach for four successive seasons before being replaced by [[Kevin Sheedy (Australian footballer)|Kevin Sheedy]]. His International rules record is two wins from four series.

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theage.com.au/afl/afl-news/lyon-tells-why-ill-never-coach-20100303-pizr.html|title=Lyon tells: Why I'll never coach|work=The Age|date=4 March 2010|access-date=23 May 2013|last=Wilson|first=Caroline}}</ref>

==Playing statistics==
{| style="margin-right:4px; margin-top:8px; float:right; border:1px #000 solid; border-radius:8px; background:#fff; font-family:Verdana; font-size:8pt; text-align:center;"
|- style="background:#fff;"
| colspan="2;" style="padding:3px; margin-bottom:-3px; margin-top:2px; font-family:Arial; "| '''[[Brownlow Medal]] votes'''
|-
! style="width:50%;"| Season
! style="width:50%;"| Votes
|-
| [[1986 Brownlow Medal|1986]]
| 3
|-
| [[1987 Brownlow Medal|1987]]
| 1
|-
| [[1988 Brownlow Medal|1988]]
| —
|-
| [[1989 Brownlow Medal|1989]]
| 3
|-
| [[1990 Brownlow Medal|1990]]
| 9
|-
| [[1991 Brownlow Medal|1991]]
| —
|-
| [[1992 Brownlow Medal|1992]]
| —
|-
| [[1993 Brownlow Medal|1993]]
| 5
|-
| [[1994 Brownlow Medal|1994]]
| 10
|-
| [[1995 Brownlow Medal|1995]]
| 9
|-
| [[1996 Brownlow Medal|1996]]
| —
|-
| [[1997 Brownlow Medal|1997]]
| —
|-
| [[1998 Brownlow Medal|1998]]
| —
|-
| [[1999 Brownlow Medal|1999]]
| —
|-
| '''Total'''
| '''40'''
|-
| colspan=2| <small>Key:</small>
|- style="background:#d9f9e9; border:1px solid #aaa; width:2em;"
| colspan=2| <small>Green / '''Bold''' = [[List of Brownlow Medal winners|Won]]</small><!--
<br />* = joint winner</small>
|- style="background-color:#FFCCCC; border:1px solid #aaaaaa; width:2em;"
| colspan=2| <small>Red / ''Italics'' = [[Brownlow Medal#Ineligibility|Ineligible]]</small>
-->
|}
:<ref>[http://afltables.com/afl/stats/players/G/Garry_Lyon.html Garry Lyon's player profile at AFL Tables]</ref>

{{AFL player statistics legend}}

{{AFL player statistics start}}
|- style="background-color: #EAEAEA"
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[1986 VFL season|1986]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL Mel}}
| 3 || 20 || 26 || 18 || 215 || 65 || 280 || 70 || {{n/a}} || 1.3 || 0.9 || 10.8 || 3.3 || 14.0 || 3.5 || {{n/a}}
|-
! scope="row" style="text-align:center" | [[1987 VFL season|1987]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL Mel}}
| 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 VFL season|1988]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL Mel}}
| 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 VFL season|1989]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL Mel}}
| 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 AFL season|1990]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL Mel}}
| 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 AFL season|1991]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL Mel}}
| 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 AFL season|1992]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL Mel}}
| 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 AFL season|1993]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL Mel}}
| 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" | [[1994 AFL season|1994]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL Mel}}
| 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 AFL season|1995]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL Mel}}
| 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 AFL season|1996]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL Mel}}
| 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 AFL season|1997]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL Mel}}
| 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 AFL season|1998]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL Mel}}
| 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" | [[1999 AFL season|1999]]
|style="text-align:center;"|{{AFL Mel}}
| 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]] is nicknamed "Garry", after Garry Lyon.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Waterworth |first1=Ben |title=AFL champion Garry Lyon discusses how he inspired the nickname of cricketer Nathan Lyon this summer |url=https://www.foxsports.com.au/afl/afl-champion-garry-lyon-discusses-how-he-inspired-the-nickname-of-cricketer-nathan-lyon-this-summer/news-story/08f4bd3c96797028877a08c7f8a390d0 |access-date=11 June 2025 |work=Fox Sports |date=31 January 2017 |language=en}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
*[http://www.elitesports.com.au/glyon/media.html Elite Sports profile]
*{{AustralianFootball}}
*{{AFL Tables}}
*[http://demonwiki.org/Garry+Lyon DemonWiki profile]

{{Melbourne Football Club captains}}
{{Melbourne Football Club Team of the Century}}
{{Keith 'Bluey' Truscott Trophy winners}}
{{Melbourne leading goalkickers}}
{{Australia international rules football team coaches}}
{{1989 VFL Team of the Year}}
{{1990 AFL Team of the Year}}
{{1993 All-Australian team}}
{{1994 All-Australian team}}
{{1995 All-Australian team}}
{{2001 Australian international rules team}}
{{2002 Australian international rules team}}
{{2003 Australian international rules team}}
{{2004 Australian international rules team}}
{{navboxes
| title = Garry Lyon in Victorian State of Origin teams
| titlestyle = background:#202231; color:white;
| list1 ={{1989 Victoria State of Origin players}}
{{1990 Victoria State of Origin players}}
{{1991 Victoria State of Origin players}}
{{1992 Victoria State of Origin players}}
{{1993 Victoria State of Origin players}}
{{1994 Victoria State of Origin players}}
{{1995 Victoria State of Origin players}}
}}
{{Australian Football Media Association Player of the Year}}

{{Authority control}}

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