Ross Lyon has revealed how a phone call from AFL legend Leigh Matthews opened the door for his stunning return to St Kilda after admitting he was “moving on” from a return to the box.
Having been out of the coaching sphere for three full seasons, Lyon’s days of being at the helm of an AFL club appeared to be over when he knocked back a chance to be involved in Carlton and Essendon’s coaching processes over the last 18 months.
Lyon was contacted by St Kilda president Andrew Bassat late last week and admitted he was apprehensive about a potential return following the shock sacking of Brett Ratten.
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However, he was then surprised when Matthews, a four-time premiership winner as the coach of Collingwood and Brisbane, reached out.
“He rang me during the week out of the blue, unsolicited,” Lyon revealed.
“He just (asked), ‘How are you?’ He understands it. I shared a little bit and he said, ‘You don’t wake up one day and think I want to coach AFL footy’. Because when you’ve been through it, you know the highs and you know the lows. You know the challenges, you know the hot seat you’re in and you know the expectations.
“You actually need to take a journey with the people you want by you and convince you all the pillars (of the club) are there so then you’ll take that emotional risk. And that’s really what happened.
“It was more an, ‘I understand what you’re going through’. There was no ‘Do it’ or ‘Don’t do it’.
“It’s nice to have someone who understands. They are incredibly coveted and rare jobs, but when you’ve been in there, it’s like a kid going to the dentist, it’s hard to go back.
“(He said) do your due diligence, but make sure you’re up for the fight more than anything, and I’m up for the fight.”
Lyon said his discussions with St Kilda’s board had gotten emotional when the topic of his controversial exit from the club in 2011 arose.
“When I left (in 2011), I dropped an iron curtain, and when I spoke about that moment and how I felt about St Kilda, I did get very, very emotional and it unleashed a lot of memories,” he said.
“There were a lot of highs and a lot of lows, but it really validated how I felt about the club, if there was any doubt.”
Lyon spoke candidly on his decision to leave St Kilda for Fremantle, admitting that influential figures with connections to the club had long canvassed his interest in a potential return.
“It did change the course of my life and my family, but Fremantle was an incredible time as well,” he said.
“Under the same circumstances we’d do the same, but it was a very difficult thing to do.
“I had a reputation about what I was for a long time and I really liked that and it did change that, even though I don’t think that was justified.
“There was a huge price to pay. I think It changed the course of events and the history of this club as well. I didn’t get to exit those champion players in the manner I believed they should’ve been. There was a lot of people that paid a price for that.”
Lyon said the bond he shared with some of his best players from that era contributed to the feeling of sadness when he departed for Perth.
“We have no regrets because we couldn’t have given it any more,” he said of that particular group.
“Could we have executed better? Yes. I think that’s why we’ve got great bonds, because we trust each other that we gave everything.
“In my coaching resume there’s unfinished business. It’s an Everest that can be climbed and needs to be climbed and I’d like to be the person to do that with the group.”
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