19 Facts About Cliff Lyons

Cliff Lyons was born on 19 October 1961 and is an indigenous Australian former international rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s and 1990s.

Cliff Lyons was notable for his elusive cross-field runs, creating doubt in the minds of defenders and setting up gaps for support players, most famously second-rower Steve Menzies, to run back into.

Cliff Lyons was graded as a second rower with the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks in 1981.

Cliff Lyons played with the Gundagai Tigers in the Group 9 competition for three seasons, from where he represented Riverina against New Zealand in 1982 and against Great Britain in 1984.

Cliff Lyons entered the NSWRFL Premiership for the first time with the North Sydney Bears midway through 1984, following his Riverina coach Greg Hawick.

Cliff Lyons then played in England in the Australian off-season with stays with Leeds and Sheffield Eagles.

Cliff Lyons moved to the neighbouring team, the Bob Fulton-coached Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles for the 1986 NSWRL season, though he mostly played at lock forward that year due to a broken arm suffered by regular lock and team captain Paul Vautin.

Cliff Lyons made his State of Origin debut for New South Wales in Game 2 of 1987 State of Origin series on a wet and muddy Sydney Cricket Ground, beating out Canterbury-Bankstown pivot and 1986 Kangaroo tourist Terry Lamb as the Blues' five-eighth at the end of the representative career of Brett Kenny, and playing opposite the King of Origin football, Australian and Queensland captain Wally Lewis.

Cliff Lyons played in 1987's exhibition state of Origin match in Los Angeles.

Cliff Lyons scored the only try of the first half against the Raiders after a strong 25m run from a scrum win, but it was his damaging runs that cut holes in the Raiders defence that saw him win the Clive Churchill Medal as man of the match.

Cliff Lyons appeared in two games of the 1988 State of Origin series, vying for the five-eighth position with Terry Lamb.

Cliff Lyons again played for NSW in the 1991 State of Origin series, but lost his test place to a returning Wally Lewis for the first test of the 1991 Trans-Tasman Test series against New Zealand, and then was passed over in favour of North Sydney pivot Peter Jackson for the final two tests.

Cliff Lyons was then selected for the Australian national team for the 1991 Kangaroo tour of Papua New Guinea, regaining his test spot due to an injury to Jackson.

Cliff Lyons was particularly in his element in rugby league sevens competitions, winning the 'Player of the Competition' during Manly's 1994 Sevens' win and captaining an Aboriginal 'Dream Team' in the 1996 competition.

In January 1999 Cliff Lyons was playing for Warringah in a rugby sevens competition, but following the Sea Eagles' disastrous start to the 1999 NRL season, he made a comeback with the club, passing the 300 first-grade game mark late in the season.

Cliff Lyons became the oldest player in the NRL at 37 years and 313 days, and retired with Manly's club record for most first-grade appearances.

Cliff Lyons made a cameo appearance in the 2006 film, Footy Legends.

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

In 2018, Cliff Lyons was inducted in the National Rugby League Hall of Fame.