Eels Blogs

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  Offside September 3, 2025 at 6:13am

  Did some solid recruitment for us then stole our best player and my favourite at the time the player the club was building around Jamie Lyon and that derailed us for a long time. 

  So Crusher can get stuffed
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    Clintorian > Offside September 3, 2025 at 9:40am

    Crusher didn't steal Lyon, Lyon was already gone. He just took him in at Manly when he was there. Crusher done an amazing job in recruitment while he was at Parra.

    Make no mistake, Lyon leaving was Brian Smith's fault, and doesn't sit with anyone else.
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    Anubis > Offside September 3, 2025 at 9:56am

    

    That's the past, if he stays does that materialise into a title? No one knows 
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    iamnot > Offside September 3, 2025 at 10:25am

    Brian Smith was the sole person responsible for Lyon leaving. Cleal was still at Parramatta when he left. 
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      Wizardssleeves official receipts > iamnot September 3, 2025 at 6:30pm

      Jamie Lyon was a fuckwit.  Brian Smith was never the problem. 
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        Anubis > Wizardssleeves official receipts September 3, 2025 at 7:03pm

        

        It happened that long ago i cant remember the details ,anyway this will help Lyons former Eels team mates weren't impressed that makes him a fuckwit by all accounts in my humble opinion. 

        AI Overview

         

        +6

         

        Jamie Lyon left the Parramatta Eels after the first game of the 2004 season due to burnout and a dislike of the pressures of professional rugby league, particularly the spotlight of city life. At just 22, he walked away to return to his hometown of Wee Waa, eventually moving to play in the English Super League before returning to Australia. The decision caused significant controversy at the time, and while he later expressed a desire to make amends, he never played for the Eels again. 

         

        Reasons for his departure:

        • Burnout and pressure:

          Lyon was experiencing burnout from the demands of professional rugby league and the unwanted limelight that came with being a star player. 

           
        • Dislike of city life:

          He found the pressures of city life overwhelming and preferred to escape to his regional hometown, Wee Waa. 

           
        • Personal reasons:

          He sought time off to deal with personal issues, though the exact details remain private. 

           
        • Desire for a different path:

          He felt he had "had enough" of professional rugby league and wanted to play for his local club, the Wee Waa Panthers. 

           

        Aftermath:

        • Lyon moved to England in 2005 to play for the St Helens club, where he became a star and won a Super League title. 
           
        • His abrupt departure from the Eels caused shock and upset, with some teammates expressing their disappointment over the way he left. 
           
        • Despite later expressing a desire to return to Parramatta and make amends, the club and his former teammates were reluctant to welcome him back. 
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      Rabz S > iamnot September 3, 2025 at 7:01pm

      Cleal was at Manly in 2004. Want to have a guess when Lyon started to get "homesick", only to fly to the north west of England (which is only a bit closer to home than Parramatta) before linking up with Cleal at Manly.
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        Wizardssleeves official receipts > Rabz S September 3, 2025 at 7:21pm

        Yeah I was gonna say I must be having a brain fart as I thought Cleal was gone and was obviously the orchestrator of his " homesickness " .  The way I always remebered it was Cleal got fucked off so took his bat and little fuckboy with him ( Via a stint rooting pigs and running his contract term out in the UK ) . 
        
        They started the Brian Smith rumours , everything from Brian wouldn't let him have a week off after his mrs miscarriaged to Brian fathering her child 😂😂 .  
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  Cumberland Eel September 3, 2025 at 1:58pm

  Didn't really rate him that much and what he did at Parra wasn't great. When I think of Eels greats I think of the Thornett bros,  Kenny, Sterling, Price, O'Reilly, Ella, Cronin etc..