SAINTS' new Aussie recruit Jamie Lyon wants to recapture the green and gold Test jersey he first wore as a teenager - but the stocky former Parramatta Eels centre has serious business to do at Knowsley Road first.

Lyon, who has signed on at Saints for a lucrative two-year deal, has regained his hunger for the game after leaving the Eels early last term and now cannot wait to get into the thick of the action.

Lyon, who turns 23 on Monday, said: "I was just a bit stale after being at Parramatta for six years. I just wanted a bit of a break, but after I had had my time off I always wanted to get back into the game. I am over here for a fresh start."

The first thing that Lyon has had to contend with has been the harsh change in climate, swapping the sunshine of New South Wales for the wind and cold of South Lancashire.

"I am just about getting acclimatised. It is not too bad now, but that cold wind has been a bit much hasn't it?" Lyon remarked.

The strong-running centre, who has been dubbed St Helens' biggest signing since Mal Meninga by coach Ian Millward, revealed that he had been approached by a number of clubs prior to opting for Saints.

"There were a few options and I had been talking to a couple of NRL clubs, but I fancied a crack at England. Ever since I was 15 I have wanted to come over here to play, see a bit more of the world and sample a different environment.

"Speaking to Ian Millward swayed my decision really, because he came across really well and I found it really comfortable talking to him. Next thing you know I am over here," he said.

Pairing

Lyon is expected to forge a devastating partnership with Aussie flyer Darren Albert - a pairing which is already exciting Saints fans as well as Millward.

The Saints boss has tipped the fleet-footed winger Albert to top the try scoring charts this term.

Having viewed all the tapes coach Millward sent over to him, Lyon is already a fan of the way Saints move the ball around and play the game.

"The St Helens style of play suits my game and that is another main reason I signed up here. Longy and Scully love throwing the ball about, so I should be able to see some of that.

"I want to win as many games as I can and get into those big finals - the Challenge Cup and Grand Final. We have got the team to do it, so it should be a good year.

"It would be nice to get into the Challenge Cup Final - just watching the clips of last year's final made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. It was a massive crowd and - I would love to be a part of that this year," Lyon said.

It is unusual to see Aussie players of Lyon's quality leave the NRL for England at such a young age - and that, combined with the manner of his departure from Parramatta, saw some raise question marks about his attitude.

But Lyon is having none of it. "That is all nonsense. Maybe they just got that impression when I left Parramatta. It is not as though I have left a club, joined another one and then left that one shortly afterwards. I was at just one club - Parramatta - for six years and I am starting afresh now and raring to go," said Lyon.

Apart from the search for domestic honours, the call of further representative honours remains a major target for Saints' new centre.

"I want to regain my Test shirt and I would also love to play for New South Wales again.

"When I was a little kid, my first ambition was to wear the green and gold jersey.

"Now I have done that I want to do it again.

"I accept my Test career will probably be on ice for a couple of years - but a few years down the track I want to get that shirt back," said Lyon.

Country boy and pig-hunter Lyon will, however, have to take up a new hobby while he is over here.

His unusual hobby made him difficult to track down when he was first approached to sign on the dotted line.

"I was out pig hunting with my mates on the first two occasions that Ian first tried to contact me.

"I'll not find an equivalent over here, so I will probably have to do something a bit tamer like getting stuck back into the golf.

"I am a country boy and have lived out in the bush all my life.

"But I am happy in St Helens because it is not really that big a place and there is a lot of green countryside around me where I am stopping in Rainford," Lyon said.