Sydney Uni American Football Club

As part of a new series, we will be looking at Lions who represented Australia in the 2011 World Cup. This week, we sat down with Liam Erby, who told us the following.

Name: Liam Erby

Number: 17

Position: RB/WR

Years playing at Lions: 8

Favourite World Cup experience: Running onto Ernst Happel Stadium Vienna in front of 22,000 fans. Although we may have played poorly that game and were against the host nation we were still treated like stars by every fan and welcomed by all players at the competition.

Liam carrying the ball against the USA

Favourite non football memory of the trip: Travelling through Innsbruck with teammates and being stopped by strangers with game programs and being asked to sign autographs for kids and supporters.

Favourite Lions experience: Stepping on the field every week competing with the best team in the country and doing my bit to keep the club’s dominance alive every game.

Not just a powerful runner, Liam is exceptionally agile, with the ability to glide through gaps.

How the Lions helped you get where you are: Without the coaching and knowledge I have gained from this club I would never have had the joy of playing for my state and country. The success of myself and this team are only from the hard work and dedication our coaching staff. When I started I thought Iknew football from what I had seen on tv but through constant learning from coaches and the players around me I have managed to turn myself from an average athlete in our game to a very successful one. Without the week to week training from our coaching staff none of it would have been possible.

Liam giving his acceptance speech for 2010 GNSW Leage MVP