CHRIS Paton, when asked in a video to mark Hamilton rugby club's 50th anniversary in 2017 what advice he would give to a new player at the Hawks, replied: "Make it a really good part of your life. You don't get to play forever, but you will have friends forever."
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Paton lived and breathed that philosophy.
Known affectionately as "Lemons", the respected and hugely popular figure died on Sunday after a long battle with cancer. He was 64.
Lemons was a champion rugby player. In a career spanning more than 500 games, he won first-grade premierships at Hamilton (1978-82), represented Newcastle, NSW Country, NSW B and Queensland B and had stints in Darwin, the Sunshine Coast and Brisbane.
A loveable rogue, his appeal stretched beyond Hamilton, beyond the rugby field.
He had friends of all ages and from all walks of life. Surfers with the arse out of their pants to Silks.
"Lemons was a special footballer but his true gift was as a human being," life-long mate and Hamilton stalwart Tony Morris said.
"He related to everybody from the top to bottom. He was not a material person, in fact the opposite. Possessions meant nothing to him, it was all about the person. He loved chatting to people, but in depth and not just on the surface. He found out who you were and what made you tick. He was interested in your history, your family, your story. And then he remembered it. He took time to listen."
On the field, Lemons was arguably Hamilton's finest.
Lemons was a special footballer but his true gift was as a human being.
- - Tony Morris
A gifted fly-half, he boasted time, space, speed and toughness - in spades.
"When Lemons got the ball it was like everything went in slow motion because he had so much time," said Ken Beckett, who coached Paton as a 17-year-old and also in the 1982 first-grade premiership said. "If you had a set move in the backs, it always revolved around Lemons, because his timing was always perfect. There wasn't much of him but he rarely got hurt. Mind you, they couldn't catch him to hurt him. He was so quick."
After Lemons played a starring role in a tour match in New Zealand against Wanganui, then All Blacks coach Johns Stewart said: "He is a gifted player indeed. He may not play for Australia but at least we in Wanganui have had the pleasure of seeing a player of his class in action."
As well as for Hamilton, Paton played in Queensland at Redcliffe, Caloundra and Maroochydore and ventured further north to Darwin.
Tributes from those outposts, as well as Hunter clubs, have flowed this week.
The common theme: "Champion player, better bloke".
"Good footballer on the paddock & even better guy off it," posted former Wallaby Ross Reynolds, who was a NSW Country teammate in 1978-79.
"He was a great club man," former Maroochydore teammate Tom Wood wrote. "He would lead the charge on Saturday nights and on Sunday he could sell a meat tray ticket to the most disapproving grandma or to the rowdiest bunch of young punks, and then get them again for the seafood tray 10 minutes later."
Former Hamilton teammate Mick Byrne has "never known a guy with a broader group of friends".
"There was never any animosity with opposition players. He had mates from every club in Newcastle."
Lemons' late father Jack, who helped form Hamilton, was his greatest influence, followed by his late mother Kath and siblings Les, John, Louise, Annie and Cate.
It was Jack who encouraged his then 11-year-old son to coach the Waratah RSL Club under-9s rugby league team to teach him empathy.
Working with juniors became a life-long pastime, all the while adopting a simple, no-nonsense style.
"Boys, girls ... it didn't matter. I couldn't list the amount of junior teams he has coached," Byrnes said.
Lemons' other love was the ocean. He began every day - rain, hail or shine - with a swim at Merewether beach, before taking up a position in his "office" on a stool in front of the surf club.
A Merewether regular tells a story of seeing Lemons coming out of the surf on a frosty August morning when the mercury was sitting at six degrees and asking, "How was the dip?" - "Bloody amazing, mate".
That was Lemons.
A celebration of Lemons' life is being planned for March 13-14.
