The Power won just five games last season and finished 14th in a year that saw senior coach Matthew Primus sacked.
Under new senior coach Ken Hinkley, the club is currently eighth on the AFL ladder with just two rounds remaining and can assure a September berth with a win over Freo this Saturday night at Patersons Stadium.
Lyon said four key ‘pillars’ were behind the club’s revival.
“You need a strong president, strong CEO, a strong senior coach and a strong footy manager,” he said.
“Those pillars have come together to give that club strong leadership and direction and all their players have bought in and it's a significant achievement by Ken, no doubt.”
Lyon was particularly glowing of Hinkley, who was an assistant under Mark Thompson at Geelong from 2004-2009, a period that brought two premierships.
He said the Power coach had brought a great culture with him to the South Australian club.
“It’s a credit to Ken isn't it, he came out of a great program,” Lyon said.
“He was a great player at Geelong. It was a great program and they (Port) reflect a fair bit of Geelong in their ball use and how they structure up.
“His leadership, I don't think you can underestimate the leadership in a club that was down and out.”
Fremantle has had comfortable wins over the two bottom clubs in the past fortnight, but Lyon labelled the clash with Port a ‘bigger challenge”.
“They're really well drilled, really,” he said.
“Their ball movement is a strength. They use it well, and if you don't work and you don't chase they embarrass you pretty quickly.
“They're a young hungry group, a hard running team. The best fourth quarter team in the competition, theoretically, and it's a big challenge for us.”
