THIS week’s WATN looks at a man who saves lives for a living and was an important leader for the club in its infancy.

Brayden Lyle was an industrious midfielder who returned to Port Adelaide to be a member of its inaugural AFL list after 26 games at West Coast.

Lyle played 90 AFL games with the Power, including the club’s first against Collingwood, when he captained the side in the absence of the suspended Gavin Wanganeen.

“Being a Port Adelaide junior and then coming up through the ranks and making the league team, I then got drafted to West Coast so I took that opportunity but I always kept an eye on Port,” he said.

“I was always hoping they would get a licence to join the AFL and then they did and I remember Jack Cahill, Brian Cunningham and Alan Gill came over and we had a meeting at one of the hotels in Perth to scope out my interest in returning and I couldn’t wait to get back and have that chance.

“I told them as soon as you can make it happen with the trades, because I had a contract, I would be there.

“They made things happen and there was a trade that involved Shane Bond and myself for a few picks and I managed to get home.”

While some might have seen it as a risk coming to a fledgling club that was not expected to have much success for some time that was not the case for Lyle, who couldn’t wait to get home.

 “Knowing the history of the club and how they went about things, I always thought the club would be strong and successful.

“I was talking with Terry Wallace at the time with the Bulldogs interested in getting me there because I wasn’t getting a whole lot of game time at West Coast so there was that opportunity as well.

“But being a Port boy, I knew the club involved strong people with strong morals – plus my wife was from Adelaide and the Port Adelaide area, and we knew it would be a good move for us.”

Lyle was one of the few players on the inaugural list with some AFL experience and his strong work ethic and natural leadership skills were recognised when he was named a vice-captain.

“We did some things in regards to helping pick the club song and guernseys and we had a bit of a say in the direction of the club so it was a thrill and a privilege to be able to have that level of involvement,” he said.

Lyle won the Best Club Man awards in 1997 and 1998 – a sign of the regard he was held in by his teammates and others around Port Adelaide.

And while he enjoyed his time at the club, by 2000 there were questions about his potential longevity.

Lyle’s final year and succession plan

He was offered a one-year contract, despite hoping for longer and in 2001 played just eight games.

“I knew that year would be important and I tried everything in terms of fitness and getting everything right, but things didn’t work out with (Mark) Choco Williams looking to blood some younger players and me being a guy with a certain style which didn’t really change a lot,” Lyle recalled.

“The club called me in and told me my contract wouldn’t be renewed, so thinking I had more to give like a lot of others who don’t get the opportunity to go out on their own terms, I nominated for the draft, which probably in hindsight was a waste of time.

“I ended up finishing up playing but the club was good enough to keep me around because I was going down the sport science path with a Human Movement degree and I helped with the fitness program for a year.”

Lyle still enjoyed playing football and he moved back to the grassroots to play in the suburbs.

“I then stepped away from the club, playing a game or two with Port Districts in the amateurs with some mates, which I really wanted to do,” he said.

“I went country for a season or two with Stephen Carter and Bryan Lees from the Magpies and we had some good fun in the good country atmosphere at Eudunda but after that I stepped right away from football after that.”

Life after football

Around that time, the SA Ambulance Service was advertising for paramedics and Lyle decided his interest in health science could take a different route away from football.

“They had about 800 applicants and 50 positions so I was lucky enough to step into that and study to be a paramedic for a couple of years, and I’ve been doing that in the Adelaide metro region and all across the state for 15 years,” Lyle said.

“You might be delivering a baby one day, you might be helping a cardiac patient the next.

“You have to help drug and alcohol related and mental health cases so you’re dealing with different skills, different people and different knowledge all the time so it can be really challenging.”

Lyle is still married to Paula, who he met at high school, and they live in the same house at Largs that they bought when they returned from Perth more than 20 years ago.

The couple is kept busy by their three daughters, Indya, 16, Monet, 14 and Suraya, 10, who love netball, tennis and swimming.

More importantly the girls love watching Power games, and Lyle loves watching with them.

In his spare time, the now 45-year-old remains extremely active, taking part in yoga, swimming, cycling and running.

He has even competed in triathlons and did an Iron Man event in recent years.

While off-road motorbike riding is also one of his pass-times, Lyle said surfing with his wife and daughters and with former teammate Jared Poulton on Yorke Peninsula is his favourite hobby.

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