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TEN days ago Jarryd Lyons was as sure as sugar going to be a Gold Coast player in 2019.
A forthright exit meeting message was received in the right way and the midfielder was prepared to fight for his career next year.
The trade period had come and gone with little mention of Lyons. The Suns were content to keep him and he was happy to stay, albeit acutely aware too much NEAFL football could spell the end of his career.
Enter the Brisbane Lions and list manager Dom Ambrogio, who has been an unsung influence and driving force behind the club’s ambitious trade and player acquisition strategy.
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A three-year deal was tabled, complete with a strong suggestion of coaching development.
After a week of deliberation the offer proved too enticing to pbad up.
So Lyons, who had become a respected and well-liked figure in his 24 months at the Suns, cautiously suggested to Gold Coast they delist him. He was prepared to fight for his spot and stay, but Brisbane’s approach put the cat among the pigeons — in a good way.
Adding to the attraction for Lyons was the prospect of playing alongside his younger brother Corey, who is yet to play a senior game in his two seasons at the club.
It was not as if the Suns, and Stuart Dew in particular, were completely in tune with Lyons the footballer anyway. During parts of 2018 he was banished to the NEAFL because of his supposed lack of running ability, even though the Suns hardly possessed an engine room to boast about.
GPS numbers are one thing, but there was widespread surprise when Dew decided there was no room for Lyons in a midfield struggling to compete on a weekly basis.
Those in the know say Gold Coast was incredibly understanding of Lyons’ plight after Brisbane came calling, just as they had been in the end with Steve May and Tom Lynch.
So the Suns agreed to cut his contract short. It was clean and simple, but the initial approach had to be delicate. There was no disenchantment and no sign of rift between player and coach.
On Friday Lyons will marry his long-time partner Savahna.
For the 26 year-old, career certainty became a central deliberating point in recent days, as it would for any player who trailed just Patrick Cripps and Tom Mitchell for average clearances per game in 2018 but still spent time in the reserves.
Lyons asked to be traded from Adelaide after 55 games because the Crows were lowballing him. Two years later he’s on the move up the highway to the Gabba because the Lions offer was too good to refuse.
He’s played 92 matches for two clubs.
Player movement often leads to ample spin from those involved despite displeasure and frustration from club and player. Not this time. This agreement to delist Lyons so he could join Brisbane was as amicable as it gets.
And soon Lyons will be a Lion, something he and his fiancee would have scoffed at when the trade period finished a fortnight ago.
If there is any such thing as a win-win-win in football, this was it.
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