Lyons believed he last played a first grade game back in 2008 and the last time he donned the Eagles guernsey at all was back in 2016 for one reserve game appearance.

The experienced tall turned 35 during the week and said that his return to footy was heavily inspired by a close mate who returned to the Eagles over the off-season.

"My best mate is vice-captain Brent Rose," Lyons said.

"He come back to Narrandera and he's dragged me along with him.

"I went up there to training and met Curls (Mark Carroll), he's a champion so I've got the itch and I'm back into it."

The Eagles celebrated their first win in 644 days on Saturday against the Crows and Lyons said it was great to be a part of the win.

"It was a really good feeling to be back and having a win too, that was good," he said.

"Everyone was pumped, it was a good feeling."

He admitted his selection in the senior side after such a long break from footy came as a complete shock to him.

"Yeah certainly," he said.

"I didn't think I was making first grade, not at all."

It's to be expected that it will take some time for Lyons to work his way into the season, however he believed he didn't perform too badly considering how long it's been since he last played a game.

"I reckon there's a bit to work on for sure," he said.

"I'm a bit rusty and I think my last first grade game was in 2008, so it's been a long time.

"I went alright, took a few marks and had a few kicks so I was happy with that.

"The body pulled up alright which always makes it better."

After having not played for over 15 years, Lyons conceded it took him a while to catch up fitness wise during the pre-season.

"It was pretty hard going, Curls trained us pretty hard," he said.

"But it was good to get the run in the legs."

Carroll's arrival at the Eagles over the off-season appears to have sparked a fair bit of optimism at the club.

Lyons said his appointment has been a positive thing and he confirmed there's a lot of excitement around the club.

"It's a different feeling to last time I was there that's for sure," he said.

"It's a really good feeling, he's quite the character Curls and I think everyone loves him.

"He's brought a bit of passion to the club I think for sure."

The Eagles will play their first game at home this weekend against Ganmain-Grong Grong-Matong.

The contest against the Lions will be a huge challenge for the Eagles and it was one that Lyons said he was looking forward to.

"Yeah I certainly am," he said.

"It's always good to have a run against Ganmain.

"I reckon we're going to give them a fair shake, we are definitely going to give it our best."

At 35, many could be expecting this to be Lyons' last year of senior footy, however he revealed that may not necessarily be the case.

"Curls lit the fire under me," he said.

"I think she's going to burn for a while, I think I've got a few more years yet."