In 2008 Lillyman was forced to leave the North Queensland Cowboys due to salary-cap pressures,[3] and that year there ended abruptly for him when he suffered a season-ending injury in Round 15, playing against the Melbourne Storm.

[6][7] At that time he was joining a strong Queensland contingent at the club, which included former Cowboys Nathan Fien and Micheal Luck and well as fellow State representatives Steve Price and Brent Tate.

On 3 April 2016 Lillyman became the 11th player to mark 150 games for the New Zealand Warriors in their 32–28 win over the Sydney Roosters at Gosford, NSW,[13] making 159 metres, with 31 tackles.

[14] After 188 games with the New Zealand Warriors, Lillyman decided it was time to return to Australia, signing a one-year contract with the Newcastle Knights starting in 2018.

[15] In round 1 of the 2018 season, Lillyman made his debut for the Newcastle club in their 19-18 golden point extra-time win over the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles.