Coach Fages and the coaching group

[Mighty Lions]

ok so the guy's a muppet who likes to make wild calls to get the spotlight.

When it doesn't happen, he moves on to his next wild call. Perfect way to keep his idiocy in the limelight.

You just described 95% of all in the media. It's a click bait world where truth is way down on the list of priorities.

 

[M Malice]

You just described 95% of all in the media. It's a click bait world where truth is way down on the list of priorities.

I would go 99% ML, media have as "good" a reputation as politicians and used car salesmen these days.

 

[martinson]

I would go 99% ML, media have as "good" a reputation as politicians and used car salesmen these days.

Media is like any other industry. You make sales by getting the most attention and profile , and occasionally by being good.

I don't see them as being any different to anyone else unless you're in an industry where your main purpose is to help people.

People interested in footy crave news especially anything a bit sensational but then criticise the media when that is what they try to deliver.

Anyone of any common sense doesn't take it too seriously.

 

[dlanod]

That writer is a diehard Tigers fan, who has seemingly had an axe to grind with the Lions for a long time (I think it dates back to us beating them in 2020).

If anybody is worried that he is a footy prophet with an unbeatable read of the game, this take from last year should be enough to allay any fears:

I really wasn't worried about that but thank you anyway.

 

[dlanod]

ok so the guy's a muppet who likes to make wild calls to get the spotlight.

When it doesn't happen, he moves on to his next wild call. Perfect way to keep his idiocy in the limelight.

He's Kane Cornes without the football career or fake firefighting career.

 

[tony]

A really good story about Fagan and what his been through the past year and how he has helped rebuild the club.

Coach of the year? Resilient Fagan has Lions in position for another crack at flag

Against the backdrop of the Hawthorn saga, Brisbane’s coach has kept his team in the premiership hunt, with his Lions joining the Cats with the most wins in the AFL in the past five years.

www.theage.com.au

Coach of the year? Resilient Fagan has Lions in position for another crack at flag​

Chris Fagan’s name has not yet been thrown up in the perennial end-of-season debate over who should emerge the fitting winner of coach of the year but on the eve of the 62-year-old’s fifth consecutive finals series it is worth considering his 2023 performance in the context of his public and private journey over the past 11 months.

Such accolades are clearly not what he is chasing as the Lions knock on the premiership door yet again, but in simple win-loss terms Fagan has joined Chris Scott as the most successful AFL coach of the past five years and could go past the Geelong coach in the finals.

Football’s poster boy for recruitment and player retention, Fagan has, under the guidance of Greg Swann, reformed the club and – what friend and former player Luke Hodge describes as – its “fractured culture”.
But the eve of another September sits a far cry from Monday, September 19, 2022. Fresh from a preliminary final belting by Geelong, Fagan learned he was one target in a series of historic allegations by a group of First Nations players and their partners in an article to be published by the ABC.

In the days that followed he stepped away from the game as he awaited the AFL’s stated intention to resolve the devastating and complex matter by Christmas. Fagan, who has from the outset strenuously denied the allegations against him, barely left his house for the next two weeks, stepping outside for exercise only at night when he hoped he wouldn’t run into other people.

Brisbane chief Swann said Fagan endured through his own resilience and strong support from the club – including weekly dinners with Swann, Leigh Matthews and their wives – his initially shattered family and his ever-present legal team at Clayton Utz.

In December, once Fagan had returned to the club, and throughout pre-season and the early stages of season 2023 his players so regularly conducted unofficial welfare checks that the coach had to finally and diplomatically instruct them to stop asking how he was, telling them: “I really appreciate you all taking the trouble but when I need to tell you something or I have something to tell you I will.”
Fagan’s first public words on the allegations came last December, the week his full squad returned for pre-season and – when it became apparent the devastating and complex case would not be resolved by last Christmas – he had returned to coaching.

“Probably the first couple of weeks [I struggled], not really knowing whether it was OK to walk down the street or not,” he said then. “But after a while we realised I can’t live like that. So I’ve just been living normally since that point.


“I’ve got a very clear conscience. They say a clear conscience is the best sedative, and I’m sleeping well.”
But even at the AFL season launch that Fagan attended in March the normally affable coach appeared uncomfortable and still clearly upset at the impact the saga had had upon his wife Ursula.
Swann said the club became Fagan’s “safe place” in a year that began with a contract extension until the end of 2025 and the pay increase he had steadfastly refused after the pandemic. Fagan refused to return to his pre-COVID wage – so determined was the coach to keep his football department and assistant coaching team content and together.

In a season in which Alastair Clarkson – the highest-profile casualty of the story published by the ABC’s Russell Jackson – buckled under the pressure of the historic allegations and departed his new job at North for almost two months, Fagan has managed what has been his most successful season.

The panel investigating allegations concluded at the end of May making no findings against Fagan, Clarkson or the club’s then welfare manager Jason Burt. Clarkson and Burt have also denied allegations against them throughout the saga. If Fagan has any further comments on the issue or where it might head legally those will have to wait.

When you ask people about Fagan’s football transformation from highly respected football boss to senior AFL coach, there is a common answer.
“He’s a little bit more serious now,” says Hodge. “He can still sit down with you over a coffee or a white wine or a beer and be very funny, but because he’s a coach he’s a lot more footy oriented. The weight of playing finals consistently can wear on you.

“There’s always been resilience there and a strong mindset, which is so important. He’s a positive role model and now he’s getting that positive reinforcement from his group. I don’t want to see what happened to Clarko happen to him.” Says Swann: “He’s more serious than he used to be. Coaching does that to you. But he’s a beauty. The day Schwabbie [former Lions list manager Peter Schwab] and I went to his house in 2016 we knew he was going to be hard to beat.”

Fagan beat Brent Montgomery and John Barker to the job before a panel that included Swann, Schwab, Simon Black, new football boss David Noble and psychologist and sports consultant Matti Clements. Stuart Dew and Brett Ratten had also been approached but declined to take part in the process.

After Justin Leppitsch’s departure from the Lions and another bottom-two finish, Swann had called the Hawthorn head of football and veteran administrator and asked him whether he was a football administrator or a coach. Fagan responded: “I reckon I’m a football administrator who’s really a coach.”

Brisbane’s transformation from the club that witnessed the five-player exodus of 2013 – Elliot Yeo, Sam Docherty, Patrick Karnezis, Billy Longer and Jared Polec – actually began in late May 2014. The newly installed AFL boss Gillon McLachlan, within days of assuming the role, flew to Brisbane and organised to bring in Swann in a deal sealed at McLachlan’s house when Swann, equipped with a six-pack of beer, was invited to discuss the rebuilding of the hapless and virtually broke northern club.

Board divisions and another coach departure followed, but as Hodge observed: “They definitely changed the mindset of their recruiting in taking country blokes who weren’t going to miss being in Melbourne. Then they got Charlie Cameron, which was massive, and then Lachie Neale and so many others followed.”

Hodge, who reversed his retirement decision in late 2017 at Fagan’s request to help develop the younger Lions in an on-field role that later became a part-time coaching development position, initially felt the coach was too easy on his young team.

“Swannie [Swann] and Nobes [former football boss Noble] had a vision of building the culture back up from a very low base,” Hodge said. “The playing culture was fractured and they weren’t respected.

“The players didn’t speak up and a lot of them were in their second and third years and I’d say to Fages: ‘Mate, you need to speak up. You need to be tougher on them.’ But he was so determined to build up their trust and guide them and nurture them so they knew the coach had their backs.

“Swannie, DD (former senior assistant turned football boss Danny Daly) and Fages: They’re the off-field poster boys for recruiting and player retention.”

Added Swann: “A player who’s trying to make up his mind whether or not to come to Brisbane only has to sit down with Fages and they’re over the line.”

Former Lion Alastair Lynch, who played representative Tasmanian football with the older Fagan and still keeps in regular touch with him to talk football, said: “Since he took over, Brisbane has become a destination club. And the game has grown so much in Queensland. He deserves some credit for that.”

Brisbane’s round-22 win over Collingwood last Friday night placed him on 79 wins over the past five years, equal with the competition’s leader Chris Scott, who he famously clashed with at GMHBA Stadium early in season 2021 after Scott had approached his players at quarter-time and – when the two coaches came together – had a crack at Fagan.

For the fourth time in five seasons the Lions will finish top four after the home-and-away rounds and a win over St Kilda will guarantee Fagan a top-two finish and two home finals at the Gabba. As Hodge observed: “If you keep getting there and knock on the door enough times you’re going to get the result you’re after at some point.”

Which is why win-loss numbers and coach of the year awards stand for little in the Brisbane coach’s sphere of ambition. When approached for the purposes of this column Fagan politely declined to comment, other than to say: “It’s not and never has been about me.”

 

[LongLion]

A really good story about Fagan and what his been through the past year and how he has helped rebuild the club.

Coach of the year? Resilient Fagan has Lions in position for another crack at flag

Against the backdrop of the Hawthorn saga, Brisbane’s coach has kept his team in the premiership hunt, with his Lions joining the Cats with the most wins in the AFL in the past five years.

www.theage.com.au

Coach of the year? Resilient Fagan has Lions in position for another crack at flag​

Chris Fagan’s name has not yet been thrown up in the perennial end-of-season debate over who should emerge the fitting winner of coach of the year but on the eve of the 62-year-old’s fifth consecutive finals series it is worth considering his 2023 performance in the context of his public and private journey over the past 11 months.

Such accolades are clearly not what he is chasing as the Lions knock on the premiership door yet again, but in simple win-loss terms Fagan has joined Chris Scott as the most successful AFL coach of the past five years and could go past the Geelong coach in the finals.

Football’s poster boy for recruitment and player retention, Fagan has, under the guidance of Greg Swann, reformed the club and – what friend and former player Luke Hodge describes as – its “fractured culture”.
But the eve of another September sits a far cry from Monday, September 19, 2022. Fresh from a preliminary final belting by Geelong, Fagan learned he was one target in a series of historic allegations by a group of First Nations players and their partners in an article to be published by the ABC.

In the days that followed he stepped away from the game as he awaited the AFL’s stated intention to resolve the devastating and complex matter by Christmas. Fagan, who has from the outset strenuously denied the allegations against him, barely left his house for the next two weeks, stepping outside for exercise only at night when he hoped he wouldn’t run into other people.

Brisbane chief Swann said Fagan endured through his own resilience and strong support from the club – including weekly dinners with Swann, Leigh Matthews and their wives – his initially shattered family and his ever-present legal team at Clayton Utz.

In December, once Fagan had returned to the club, and throughout pre-season and the early stages of season 2023 his players so regularly conducted unofficial welfare checks that the coach had to finally and diplomatically instruct them to stop asking how he was, telling them: “I really appreciate you all taking the trouble but when I need to tell you something or I have something to tell you I will.”
Fagan’s first public words on the allegations came last December, the week his full squad returned for pre-season and – when it became apparent the devastating and complex case would not be resolved by last Christmas – he had returned to coaching.

“Probably the first couple of weeks [I struggled], not really knowing whether it was OK to walk down the street or not,” he said then. “But after a while we realised I can’t live like that. So I’ve just been living normally since that point.


“I’ve got a very clear conscience. They say a clear conscience is the best sedative, and I’m sleeping well.”
But even at the AFL season launch that Fagan attended in March the normally affable coach appeared uncomfortable and still clearly upset at the impact the saga had had upon his wife Ursula.
Swann said the club became Fagan’s “safe place” in a year that began with a contract extension until the end of 2025 and the pay increase he had steadfastly refused after the pandemic. Fagan refused to return to his pre-COVID wage – so determined was the coach to keep his football department and assistant coaching team content and together.

In a season in which Alastair Clarkson – the highest-profile casualty of the story published by the ABC’s Russell Jackson – buckled under the pressure of the historic allegations and departed his new job at North for almost two months, Fagan has managed what has been his most successful season.

The panel investigating allegations concluded at the end of May making no findings against Fagan, Clarkson or the club’s then welfare manager Jason Burt. Clarkson and Burt have also denied allegations against them throughout the saga. If Fagan has any further comments on the issue or where it might head legally those will have to wait.

When you ask people about Fagan’s football transformation from highly respected football boss to senior AFL coach, there is a common answer.
“He’s a little bit more serious now,” says Hodge. “He can still sit down with you over a coffee or a white wine or a beer and be very funny, but because he’s a coach he’s a lot more footy oriented. The weight of playing finals consistently can wear on you.

“There’s always been resilience there and a strong mindset, which is so important. He’s a positive role model and now he’s getting that positive reinforcement from his group. I don’t want to see what happened to Clarko happen to him.” Says Swann: “He’s more serious than he used to be. Coaching does that to you. But he’s a beauty. The day Schwabbie [former Lions list manager Peter Schwab] and I went to his house in 2016 we knew he was going to be hard to beat.”

Fagan beat Brent Montgomery and John Barker to the job before a panel that included Swann, Schwab, Simon Black, new football boss David Noble and psychologist and sports consultant Matti Clements. Stuart Dew and Brett Ratten had also been approached but declined to take part in the process.

After Justin Leppitsch’s departure from the Lions and another bottom-two finish, Swann had called the Hawthorn head of football and veteran administrator and asked him whether he was a football administrator or a coach. Fagan responded: “I reckon I’m a football administrator who’s really a coach.”

Brisbane’s transformation from the club that witnessed the five-player exodus of 2013 – Elliot Yeo, Sam Docherty, Patrick Karnezis, Billy Longer and Jared Polec – actually began in late May 2014. The newly installed AFL boss Gillon McLachlan, within days of assuming the role, flew to Brisbane and organised to bring in Swann in a deal sealed at McLachlan’s house when Swann, equipped with a six-pack of beer, was invited to discuss the rebuilding of the hapless and virtually broke northern club.

Board divisions and another coach departure followed, but as Hodge observed: “They definitely changed the mindset of their recruiting in taking country blokes who weren’t going to miss being in Melbourne. Then they got Charlie Cameron, which was massive, and then Lachie Neale and so many others followed.”

Hodge, who reversed his retirement decision in late 2017 at Fagan’s request to help develop the younger Lions in an on-field role that later became a part-time coaching development position, initially felt the coach was too easy on his young team.

“Swannie [Swann] and Nobes [former football boss Noble] had a vision of building the culture back up from a very low base,” Hodge said. “The playing culture was fractured and they weren’t respected.

“The players didn’t speak up and a lot of them were in their second and third years and I’d say to Fages: ‘Mate, you need to speak up. You need to be tougher on them.’ But he was so determined to build up their trust and guide them and nurture them so they knew the coach had their backs.

“Swannie, DD (former senior assistant turned football boss Danny Daly) and Fages: They’re the off-field poster boys for recruiting and player retention.”

Added Swann: “A player who’s trying to make up his mind whether or not to come to Brisbane only has to sit down with Fages and they’re over the line.”

Former Lion Alastair Lynch, who played representative Tasmanian football with the older Fagan and still keeps in regular touch with him to talk football, said: “Since he took over, Brisbane has become a destination club. And the game has grown so much in Queensland. He deserves some credit for that.”

Brisbane’s round-22 win over Collingwood last Friday night placed him on 79 wins over the past five years, equal with the competition’s leader Chris Scott, who he famously clashed with at GMHBA Stadium early in season 2021 after Scott had approached his players at quarter-time and – when the two coaches came together – had a crack at Fagan.

For the fourth time in five seasons the Lions will finish top four after the home-and-away rounds and a win over St Kilda will guarantee Fagan a top-two finish and two home finals at the Gabba. As Hodge observed: “If you keep getting there and knock on the door enough times you’re going to get the result you’re after at some point.”

Which is why win-loss numbers and coach of the year awards stand for little in the Brisbane coach’s sphere of ambition. When approached for the purposes of this column Fagan politely declined to comment, other than to say: “It’s not and never has been about me.”

How good is that article? A ripper.

 

[T Rick]

A really good story about Fagan and what his been through the past year and how he has helped rebuild the club.

Coach of the year? Resilient Fagan has Lions in position for another crack at flag

Against the backdrop of the Hawthorn saga, Brisbane’s coach has kept his team in the premiership hunt, with his Lions joining the Cats with the most wins in the AFL in the past five years.

www.theage.com.au

Coach of the year? Resilient Fagan has Lions in position for another crack at flag​

Chris Fagan’s name has not yet been thrown up in the perennial end-of-season debate over who should emerge the fitting winner of coach of the year but on the eve of the 62-year-old’s fifth consecutive finals series it is worth considering his 2023 performance in the context of his public and private journey over the past 11 months.

Such accolades are clearly not what he is chasing as the Lions knock on the premiership door yet again, but in simple win-loss terms Fagan has joined Chris Scott as the most successful AFL coach of the past five years and could go past the Geelong coach in the finals.

Football’s poster boy for recruitment and player retention, Fagan has, under the guidance of Greg Swann, reformed the club and – what friend and former player Luke Hodge describes as – its “fractured culture”.
But the eve of another September sits a far cry from Monday, September 19, 2022. Fresh from a preliminary final belting by Geelong, Fagan learned he was one target in a series of historic allegations by a group of First Nations players and their partners in an article to be published by the ABC.

In the days that followed he stepped away from the game as he awaited the AFL’s stated intention to resolve the devastating and complex matter by Christmas. Fagan, who has from the outset strenuously denied the allegations against him, barely left his house for the next two weeks, stepping outside for exercise only at night when he hoped he wouldn’t run into other people.

Brisbane chief Swann said Fagan endured through his own resilience and strong support from the club – including weekly dinners with Swann, Leigh Matthews and their wives – his initially shattered family and his ever-present legal team at Clayton Utz.

In December, once Fagan had returned to the club, and throughout pre-season and the early stages of season 2023 his players so regularly conducted unofficial welfare checks that the coach had to finally and diplomatically instruct them to stop asking how he was, telling them: “I really appreciate you all taking the trouble but when I need to tell you something or I have something to tell you I will.”
Fagan’s first public words on the allegations came last December, the week his full squad returned for pre-season and – when it became apparent the devastating and complex case would not be resolved by last Christmas – he had returned to coaching.

“Probably the first couple of weeks [I struggled], not really knowing whether it was OK to walk down the street or not,” he said then. “But after a while we realised I can’t live like that. So I’ve just been living normally since that point.


“I’ve got a very clear conscience. They say a clear conscience is the best sedative, and I’m sleeping well.”
But even at the AFL season launch that Fagan attended in March the normally affable coach appeared uncomfortable and still clearly upset at the impact the saga had had upon his wife Ursula.
Swann said the club became Fagan’s “safe place” in a year that began with a contract extension until the end of 2025 and the pay increase he had steadfastly refused after the pandemic. Fagan refused to return to his pre-COVID wage – so determined was the coach to keep his football department and assistant coaching team content and together.

In a season in which Alastair Clarkson – the highest-profile casualty of the story published by the ABC’s Russell Jackson – buckled under the pressure of the historic allegations and departed his new job at North for almost two months, Fagan has managed what has been his most successful season.

The panel investigating allegations concluded at the end of May making no findings against Fagan, Clarkson or the club’s then welfare manager Jason Burt. Clarkson and Burt have also denied allegations against them throughout the saga. If Fagan has any further comments on the issue or where it might head legally those will have to wait.

When you ask people about Fagan’s football transformation from highly respected football boss to senior AFL coach, there is a common answer.
“He’s a little bit more serious now,” says Hodge. “He can still sit down with you over a coffee or a white wine or a beer and be very funny, but because he’s a coach he’s a lot more footy oriented. The weight of playing finals consistently can wear on you.

“There’s always been resilience there and a strong mindset, which is so important. He’s a positive role model and now he’s getting that positive reinforcement from his group. I don’t want to see what happened to Clarko happen to him.” Says Swann: “He’s more serious than he used to be. Coaching does that to you. But he’s a beauty. The day Schwabbie [former Lions list manager Peter Schwab] and I went to his house in 2016 we knew he was going to be hard to beat.”

Fagan beat Brent Montgomery and John Barker to the job before a panel that included Swann, Schwab, Simon Black, new football boss David Noble and psychologist and sports consultant Matti Clements. Stuart Dew and Brett Ratten had also been approached but declined to take part in the process.

After Justin Leppitsch’s departure from the Lions and another bottom-two finish, Swann had called the Hawthorn head of football and veteran administrator and asked him whether he was a football administrator or a coach. Fagan responded: “I reckon I’m a football administrator who’s really a coach.”

Brisbane’s transformation from the club that witnessed the five-player exodus of 2013 – Elliot Yeo, Sam Docherty, Patrick Karnezis, Billy Longer and Jared Polec – actually began in late May 2014. The newly installed AFL boss Gillon McLachlan, within days of assuming the role, flew to Brisbane and organised to bring in Swann in a deal sealed at McLachlan’s house when Swann, equipped with a six-pack of beer, was invited to discuss the rebuilding of the hapless and virtually broke northern club.

Board divisions and another coach departure followed, but as Hodge observed: “They definitely changed the mindset of their recruiting in taking country blokes who weren’t going to miss being in Melbourne. Then they got Charlie Cameron, which was massive, and then Lachie Neale and so many others followed.”

Hodge, who reversed his retirement decision in late 2017 at Fagan’s request to help develop the younger Lions in an on-field role that later became a part-time coaching development position, initially felt the coach was too easy on his young team.

“Swannie [Swann] and Nobes [former football boss Noble] had a vision of building the culture back up from a very low base,” Hodge said. “The playing culture was fractured and they weren’t respected.

“The players didn’t speak up and a lot of them were in their second and third years and I’d say to Fages: ‘Mate, you need to speak up. You need to be tougher on them.’ But he was so determined to build up their trust and guide them and nurture them so they knew the coach had their backs.

“Swannie, DD (former senior assistant turned football boss Danny Daly) and Fages: They’re the off-field poster boys for recruiting and player retention.”

Added Swann: “A player who’s trying to make up his mind whether or not to come to Brisbane only has to sit down with Fages and they’re over the line.”

Former Lion Alastair Lynch, who played representative Tasmanian football with the older Fagan and still keeps in regular touch with him to talk football, said: “Since he took over, Brisbane has become a destination club. And the game has grown so much in Queensland. He deserves some credit for that.”

Brisbane’s round-22 win over Collingwood last Friday night placed him on 79 wins over the past five years, equal with the competition’s leader Chris Scott, who he famously clashed with at GMHBA Stadium early in season 2021 after Scott had approached his players at quarter-time and – when the two coaches came together – had a crack at Fagan.

For the fourth time in five seasons the Lions will finish top four after the home-and-away rounds and a win over St Kilda will guarantee Fagan a top-two finish and two home finals at the Gabba. As Hodge observed: “If you keep getting there and knock on the door enough times you’re going to get the result you’re after at some point.”

Which is why win-loss numbers and coach of the year awards stand for little in the Brisbane coach’s sphere of ambition. When approached for the purposes of this column Fagan politely declined to comment, other than to say: “It’s not and never has been about me.”

A wonderful read - we are indeed very fortunate to have Fages as our senior coach.

 

[Mighty Lions]

Media is like any other industry. You make sales by getting the most attention and profile , and occasionally by being good.

I don't see them as being any different to anyone else unless you're in an industry where your main purpose is to help people.

People interested in footy crave news especially anything a bit sensational but then criticise the media when that is what they try to deliver.

Anyone of any common sense doesn't take it too seriously.

The media are very different to other industries wherein they significantly affect peoples lives positively or negatively dependant on the stories they spin. They can wreck lives of some in one story and can make someones life with another. The power they have is far greater than most other industries.
Common sense people can make judgements on a bad or good story just as easy as someone with no common sense....that comment doesnt descriminate on the way people translate a story. It's done so in simlilar ways on Big Footy many times and will contiinue to do so.

 

[Nathan Barley]

A really good story about Fagan and what his been through the past year and how he has helped rebuild the club.

Coach of the year? Resilient Fagan has Lions in position for another crack at flag

Against the backdrop of the Hawthorn saga, Brisbane’s coach has kept his team in the premiership hunt, with his Lions joining the Cats with the most wins in the AFL in the past five years.

www.theage.com.au

Coach of the year? Resilient Fagan has Lions in position for another crack at flag​

Chris Fagan’s name has not yet been thrown up in the perennial end-of-season debate over who should emerge the fitting winner of coach of the year but on the eve of the 62-year-old’s fifth consecutive finals series it is worth considering his 2023 performance in the context of his public and private journey over the past 11 months.

Such accolades are clearly not what he is chasing as the Lions knock on the premiership door yet again, but in simple win-loss terms Fagan has joined Chris Scott as the most successful AFL coach of the past five years and could go past the Geelong coach in the finals.

Football’s poster boy for recruitment and player retention, Fagan has, under the guidance of Greg Swann, reformed the club and – what friend and former player Luke Hodge describes as – its “fractured culture”.
But the eve of another September sits a far cry from Monday, September 19, 2022. Fresh from a preliminary final belting by Geelong, Fagan learned he was one target in a series of historic allegations by a group of First Nations players and their partners in an article to be published by the ABC.

In the days that followed he stepped away from the game as he awaited the AFL’s stated intention to resolve the devastating and complex matter by Christmas. Fagan, who has from the outset strenuously denied the allegations against him, barely left his house for the next two weeks, stepping outside for exercise only at night when he hoped he wouldn’t run into other people.

Brisbane chief Swann said Fagan endured through his own resilience and strong support from the club – including weekly dinners with Swann, Leigh Matthews and their wives – his initially shattered family and his ever-present legal team at Clayton Utz.

In December, once Fagan had returned to the club, and throughout pre-season and the early stages of season 2023 his players so regularly conducted unofficial welfare checks that the coach had to finally and diplomatically instruct them to stop asking how he was, telling them: “I really appreciate you all taking the trouble but when I need to tell you something or I have something to tell you I will.”
Fagan’s first public words on the allegations came last December, the week his full squad returned for pre-season and – when it became apparent the devastating and complex case would not be resolved by last Christmas – he had returned to coaching.

“Probably the first couple of weeks [I struggled], not really knowing whether it was OK to walk down the street or not,” he said then. “But after a while we realised I can’t live like that. So I’ve just been living normally since that point.


“I’ve got a very clear conscience. They say a clear conscience is the best sedative, and I’m sleeping well.”
But even at the AFL season launch that Fagan attended in March the normally affable coach appeared uncomfortable and still clearly upset at the impact the saga had had upon his wife Ursula.
Swann said the club became Fagan’s “safe place” in a year that began with a contract extension until the end of 2025 and the pay increase he had steadfastly refused after the pandemic. Fagan refused to return to his pre-COVID wage – so determined was the coach to keep his football department and assistant coaching team content and together.

In a season in which Alastair Clarkson – the highest-profile casualty of the story published by the ABC’s Russell Jackson – buckled under the pressure of the historic allegations and departed his new job at North for almost two months, Fagan has managed what has been his most successful season.

The panel investigating allegations concluded at the end of May making no findings against Fagan, Clarkson or the club’s then welfare manager Jason Burt. Clarkson and Burt have also denied allegations against them throughout the saga. If Fagan has any further comments on the issue or where it might head legally those will have to wait.

When you ask people about Fagan’s football transformation from highly respected football boss to senior AFL coach, there is a common answer.
“He’s a little bit more serious now,” says Hodge. “He can still sit down with you over a coffee or a white wine or a beer and be very funny, but because he’s a coach he’s a lot more footy oriented. The weight of playing finals consistently can wear on you.

“There’s always been resilience there and a strong mindset, which is so important. He’s a positive role model and now he’s getting that positive reinforcement from his group. I don’t want to see what happened to Clarko happen to him.” Says Swann: “He’s more serious than he used to be. Coaching does that to you. But he’s a beauty. The day Schwabbie [former Lions list manager Peter Schwab] and I went to his house in 2016 we knew he was going to be hard to beat.”

Fagan beat Brent Montgomery and John Barker to the job before a panel that included Swann, Schwab, Simon Black, new football boss David Noble and psychologist and sports consultant Matti Clements. Stuart Dew and Brett Ratten had also been approached but declined to take part in the process.

After Justin Leppitsch’s departure from the Lions and another bottom-two finish, Swann had called the Hawthorn head of football and veteran administrator and asked him whether he was a football administrator or a coach. Fagan responded: “I reckon I’m a football administrator who’s really a coach.”

Brisbane’s transformation from the club that witnessed the five-player exodus of 2013 – Elliot Yeo, Sam Docherty, Patrick Karnezis, Billy Longer and Jared Polec – actually began in late May 2014. The newly installed AFL boss Gillon McLachlan, within days of assuming the role, flew to Brisbane and organised to bring in Swann in a deal sealed at McLachlan’s house when Swann, equipped with a six-pack of beer, was invited to discuss the rebuilding of the hapless and virtually broke northern club.

Board divisions and another coach departure followed, but as Hodge observed: “They definitely changed the mindset of their recruiting in taking country blokes who weren’t going to miss being in Melbourne. Then they got Charlie Cameron, which was massive, and then Lachie Neale and so many others followed.”

Hodge, who reversed his retirement decision in late 2017 at Fagan’s request to help develop the younger Lions in an on-field role that later became a part-time coaching development position, initially felt the coach was too easy on his young team.

“Swannie [Swann] and Nobes [former football boss Noble] had a vision of building the culture back up from a very low base,” Hodge said. “The playing culture was fractured and they weren’t respected.

“The players didn’t speak up and a lot of them were in their second and third years and I’d say to Fages: ‘Mate, you need to speak up. You need to be tougher on them.’ But he was so determined to build up their trust and guide them and nurture them so they knew the coach had their backs.

“Swannie, DD (former senior assistant turned football boss Danny Daly) and Fages: They’re the off-field poster boys for recruiting and player retention.”

Added Swann: “A player who’s trying to make up his mind whether or not to come to Brisbane only has to sit down with Fages and they’re over the line.”

Former Lion Alastair Lynch, who played representative Tasmanian football with the older Fagan and still keeps in regular touch with him to talk football, said: “Since he took over, Brisbane has become a destination club. And the game has grown so much in Queensland. He deserves some credit for that.”

Brisbane’s round-22 win over Collingwood last Friday night placed him on 79 wins over the past five years, equal with the competition’s leader Chris Scott, who he famously clashed with at GMHBA Stadium early in season 2021 after Scott had approached his players at quarter-time and – when the two coaches came together – had a crack at Fagan.

For the fourth time in five seasons the Lions will finish top four after the home-and-away rounds and a win over St Kilda will guarantee Fagan a top-two finish and two home finals at the Gabba. As Hodge observed: “If you keep getting there and knock on the door enough times you’re going to get the result you’re after at some point.”

Which is why win-loss numbers and coach of the year awards stand for little in the Brisbane coach’s sphere of ambition. When approached for the purposes of this column Fagan politely declined to comment, other than to say: “It’s not and never has been about me.”

No mention of pets or surrounding himself with Yes men?

 

[Grasshopper17]

A really good story about Fagan and what his been through the past year and how he has helped rebuild the club.

Coach of the year? Resilient Fagan has Lions in position for another crack at flag

Against the backdrop of the Hawthorn saga, Brisbane’s coach has kept his team in the premiership hunt, with his Lions joining the Cats with the most wins in the AFL in the past five years.

www.theage.com.au

Coach of the year? Resilient Fagan has Lions in position for another crack at flag​

Chris Fagan’s name has not yet been thrown up in the perennial end-of-season debate over who should emerge the fitting winner of coach of the year but on the eve of the 62-year-old’s fifth consecutive finals series it is worth considering his 2023 performance in the context of his public and private journey over the past 11 months.

Such accolades are clearly not what he is chasing as the Lions knock on the premiership door yet again, but in simple win-loss terms Fagan has joined Chris Scott as the most successful AFL coach of the past five years and could go past the Geelong coach in the finals.

Football’s poster boy for recruitment and player retention, Fagan has, under the guidance of Greg Swann, reformed the club and – what friend and former player Luke Hodge describes as – its “fractured culture”.
But the eve of another September sits a far cry from Monday, September 19, 2022. Fresh from a preliminary final belting by Geelong, Fagan learned he was one target in a series of historic allegations by a group of First Nations players and their partners in an article to be published by the ABC.

In the days that followed he stepped away from the game as he awaited the AFL’s stated intention to resolve the devastating and complex matter by Christmas. Fagan, who has from the outset strenuously denied the allegations against him, barely left his house for the next two weeks, stepping outside for exercise only at night when he hoped he wouldn’t run into other people.

Brisbane chief Swann said Fagan endured through his own resilience and strong support from the club – including weekly dinners with Swann, Leigh Matthews and their wives – his initially shattered family and his ever-present legal team at Clayton Utz.

In December, once Fagan had returned to the club, and throughout pre-season and the early stages of season 2023 his players so regularly conducted unofficial welfare checks that the coach had to finally and diplomatically instruct them to stop asking how he was, telling them: “I really appreciate you all taking the trouble but when I need to tell you something or I have something to tell you I will.”
Fagan’s first public words on the allegations came last December, the week his full squad returned for pre-season and – when it became apparent the devastating and complex case would not be resolved by last Christmas – he had returned to coaching.

“Probably the first couple of weeks [I struggled], not really knowing whether it was OK to walk down the street or not,” he said then. “But after a while we realised I can’t live like that. So I’ve just been living normally since that point.


“I’ve got a very clear conscience. They say a clear conscience is the best sedative, and I’m sleeping well.”
But even at the AFL season launch that Fagan attended in March the normally affable coach appeared uncomfortable and still clearly upset at the impact the saga had had upon his wife Ursula.
Swann said the club became Fagan’s “safe place” in a year that began with a contract extension until the end of 2025 and the pay increase he had steadfastly refused after the pandemic. Fagan refused to return to his pre-COVID wage – so determined was the coach to keep his football department and assistant coaching team content and together.

In a season in which Alastair Clarkson – the highest-profile casualty of the story published by the ABC’s Russell Jackson – buckled under the pressure of the historic allegations and departed his new job at North for almost two months, Fagan has managed what has been his most successful season.

The panel investigating allegations concluded at the end of May making no findings against Fagan, Clarkson or the club’s then welfare manager Jason Burt. Clarkson and Burt have also denied allegations against them throughout the saga. If Fagan has any further comments on the issue or where it might head legally those will have to wait.

When you ask people about Fagan’s football transformation from highly respected football boss to senior AFL coach, there is a common answer.
“He’s a little bit more serious now,” says Hodge. “He can still sit down with you over a coffee or a white wine or a beer and be very funny, but because he’s a coach he’s a lot more footy oriented. The weight of playing finals consistently can wear on you.

“There’s always been resilience there and a strong mindset, which is so important. He’s a positive role model and now he’s getting that positive reinforcement from his group. I don’t want to see what happened to Clarko happen to him.” Says Swann: “He’s more serious than he used to be. Coaching does that to you. But he’s a beauty. The day Schwabbie [former Lions list manager Peter Schwab] and I went to his house in 2016 we knew he was going to be hard to beat.”

Fagan beat Brent Montgomery and John Barker to the job before a panel that included Swann, Schwab, Simon Black, new football boss David Noble and psychologist and sports consultant Matti Clements. Stuart Dew and Brett Ratten had also been approached but declined to take part in the process.

After Justin Leppitsch’s departure from the Lions and another bottom-two finish, Swann had called the Hawthorn head of football and veteran administrator and asked him whether he was a football administrator or a coach. Fagan responded: “I reckon I’m a football administrator who’s really a coach.”

Brisbane’s transformation from the club that witnessed the five-player exodus of 2013 – Elliot Yeo, Sam Docherty, Patrick Karnezis, Billy Longer and Jared Polec – actually began in late May 2014. The newly installed AFL boss Gillon McLachlan, within days of assuming the role, flew to Brisbane and organised to bring in Swann in a deal sealed at McLachlan’s house when Swann, equipped with a six-pack of beer, was invited to discuss the rebuilding of the hapless and virtually broke northern club.

Board divisions and another coach departure followed, but as Hodge observed: “They definitely changed the mindset of their recruiting in taking country blokes who weren’t going to miss being in Melbourne. Then they got Charlie Cameron, which was massive, and then Lachie Neale and so many others followed.”

Hodge, who reversed his retirement decision in late 2017 at Fagan’s request to help develop the younger Lions in an on-field role that later became a part-time coaching development position, initially felt the coach was too easy on his young team.

“Swannie [Swann] and Nobes [former football boss Noble] had a vision of building the culture back up from a very low base,” Hodge said. “The playing culture was fractured and they weren’t respected.

“The players didn’t speak up and a lot of them were in their second and third years and I’d say to Fages: ‘Mate, you need to speak up. You need to be tougher on them.’ But he was so determined to build up their trust and guide them and nurture them so they knew the coach had their backs.

“Swannie, DD (former senior assistant turned football boss Danny Daly) and Fages: They’re the off-field poster boys for recruiting and player retention.”

Added Swann: “A player who’s trying to make up his mind whether or not to come to Brisbane only has to sit down with Fages and they’re over the line.”

Former Lion Alastair Lynch, who played representative Tasmanian football with the older Fagan and still keeps in regular touch with him to talk football, said: “Since he took over, Brisbane has become a destination club. And the game has grown so much in Queensland. He deserves some credit for that.”

Brisbane’s round-22 win over Collingwood last Friday night placed him on 79 wins over the past five years, equal with the competition’s leader Chris Scott, who he famously clashed with at GMHBA Stadium early in season 2021 after Scott had approached his players at quarter-time and – when the two coaches came together – had a crack at Fagan.

For the fourth time in five seasons the Lions will finish top four after the home-and-away rounds and a win over St Kilda will guarantee Fagan a top-two finish and two home finals at the Gabba. As Hodge observed: “If you keep getting there and knock on the door enough times you’re going to get the result you’re after at some point.”

Which is why win-loss numbers and coach of the year awards stand for little in the Brisbane coach’s sphere of ambition. When approached for the purposes of this column Fagan politely declined to comment, other than to say: “It’s not and never has been about me.”

Great stuff. But couldn't they have waited 24 hours!?

 

[dlanod]

No mention of pets or surrounding himself with Yes men?

They didn't notice the half dozen ex-Hawthorn players under the kitchen table waiting for ear scratches.

 

[Cubs2Lions]

They didn't notice the half dozen ex-Hawthorn players under the kitchen table waiting for ear scratches.

 

[knaf]

No mention of pets or surrounding himself with Yes men?

I liked the “it’s not about me comment”, but he could have been completely honest and admit that without posters from BigFooty he would be completely clueless.

 

[irel]

A really good story about Fagan and what his been through the past year and how he has helped rebuild the club.

Coach of the year? Resilient Fagan has Lions in position for another crack at flag

Against the backdrop of the Hawthorn saga, Brisbane’s coach has kept his team in the premiership hunt, with his Lions joining the Cats with the most wins in the AFL in the past five years.

www.theage.com.au

Coach of the year? Resilient Fagan has Lions in position for another crack at flag​

For the fourth time in five seasons the Lions will finish top four after the home-and-away rounds and a win over St Kilda will guarantee Fagan a top-two finish and two home finals at the Gabba. As Hodge observed: “If you keep getting there and knock on the door enough times you’re going to get the result you’re after at some point.”

Which is why win-loss numbers and coach of the year awards stand for little in the Brisbane coach’s sphere of ambition. When approached for the purposes of this column Fagan politely declined to comment, other than to say: “It’s not and never has been about me.”

Brilliant stuff. Encapsulates why Fagan should be venerated by Lions supporters and not have anti-Fagan sentiment here expressed by some moronic posters with personal vendettas.

You know who you are and read this:
For the fourth time in five seasons the Lions will finish top four after the home-and-away rounds and a win over St Kilda will guarantee Fagan a top-two finish and two home finals at the Gabba. As Hodge observed: “If you keep getting there and knock on the door enough times you’re going to get the result you’re after at some point.”

Which is why win-loss numbers and coach of the year awards stand for little in the Brisbane coach’s sphere of ambition. When approached for the purposes of this column Fagan politely declined to comment, other than to say: “It’s not and never has been about me.”

 

[M Malice]

Brilliant stuff. Encapsulates why Fagan should be venerated by Lions supporters and not have anti-Fagan sentiment here expressed by some moronic posters with personal vendettas.

You know who you are and read this:
For the fourth time in five seasons the Lions will finish top four after the home-and-away rounds and a win over St Kilda will guarantee Fagan a top-two finish and two home finals at the Gabba. As Hodge observed: “If you keep getting there and knock on the door enough times you’re going to get the result you’re after at some point.”

Which is why win-loss numbers and coach of the year awards stand for little in the Brisbane coach’s sphere of ambition. When approached for the purposes of this column Fagan politely declined to comment, other than to say: “It’s not and never has been about me.”

If the Bulldogs miss the 8 this season the LIONS will be the only side to make the finals every year since the 2019 finals, in 4 of those 5 seasons we have finished the H&A season in the top 4... in the one season we missed the top 4 we got through to Preliminary Finals weekend.

Reasoned non vitriolic criticism of Chris Fagan is fine but yes some of the over the top tripe is just nonsensical.

Fagan is an absolute treasure and an all time Lions great even without a flag to show for it IMO.

Never forget the rabble and national joke we were before Chris Fagan.

 

[martinson]

The media are very different to other industries wherein they significantly affect peoples lives positively or negatively dependant on the stories they spin. They can wreck lives of some in one story and can make someones life with another. The power they have is far greater than most other industries.
Common sense people can make judgements on a bad or good story just as easy as someone with no common sense....that comment doesnt descriminate on the way people translate a story. It's done so in simlilar ways on Big Footy many times and will contiinue to do so.

I think your point is valid but people mistake the actions of certain journalists ,and let's face it sports journalists and footy journalists in particular are at the bottom of the barrel in terms of training and education, as a blanket reflection on media./journalism as a whole.

Without the media and journos you wouldn't have AFL content delivered if at all in the way we're used to and that every footy follower craves. Every large industry has a large media outlet these days , from Governments down

Like all industries it's never perfect. My personal view is that journos by and large do their best do deliver a service , there's some crap ones out there ,that's always been the case. There are a lot of good ones as well.

 

[Mighty Lions]

I think your point is valid but people mistake the actions of certain journalists ,and let's face it sports journalists and footy journalists in particular are at the bottom of the barrel in terms of training and education, as a blanket reflection on media./journalism as a whole.

Without the media and journos you wouldn't have AFL content delivered if at all in the way we're used to and that every footy follower craves. Every large industry has a large media outlet these days , from Governments down

Like all industries it's never perfect. My personal view is that journos by and large do their best do deliver a service , there's some crap ones out there ,that's always been the case. There are a lot of good ones as well.

Followed, played & been involved in footy for more than 6 decades and very much dislike the way AFL content is delivered to us now. Right now even the commentators that once were footy champions (& up until the last few years footy hero's of mine) are lower than a snakes arse when regularly telling BS instead of delivering us the factual stories as they really are & they know they are because they have been there done that. Making theirselves relevant in the footy industry has well and truely overtaken delivering us what really is.

Just my opinion which is very different to yours & how I see it from my time in footy as a player, administrator, supporter.

 

[M Malice]

Followed, played & been involved in footy for more than 6 decades and very much dislike the way AFL content is delivered to us now. Right now even the commentators that once were footy champions (& up until the last few years footy hero's of mine) are lower than a snakes arse when regularly telling BS instead of delivering us the factual stories as they really are & they know they are because they have been there done that. Making theirselves relevant in the footy industry has well and truely overtaken delivering us what really is.

Just my opinion which is very different to yours & how I see it from my time in footy as a player, administrator, supporter.

Ah hah, we now have a pretty good idea why you get good inside info ML... 6 decades, Mmm, you are doing a fantastic job Fages.

 

[martinson]

Followed, played & been involved in footy for more than 6 decades and very much dislike the way AFL content is delivered to us now. Right now even the commentators that once were footy champions (& up until the last few years footy hero's of mine) are lower than a snakes arse when regularly telling BS instead of delivering us the factual stories as they really are & they know they are because they have been there done that. Making theirselves relevant in the footy industry has well and truely overtaken delivering us what really is.

Just my opinion which is very different to yours & how I see it from my time in footy as a player, administrator, supporter.

But you seem to put a blanket knock on everyone in the industry. Delivering us what really is ,I've got no idea what that means.

These days we can see what really is for ourselves with every match televised. Journo's and commentators have always put their own spin on that which is what they're paid to do. Don't see any difference between them and the commentators of previous eras. In fact they couldn't beat Mike Williamson ,Jack ,Lou and Bob and a multitude of others for spin ,drama and just making stuff up half the time.

Nothing's changed except now they use a vast range of data , statistics and vision to back up their point of view , often not that successfully ,but the truth is there's never been more means for the public to make up its own mind than there is today.

 

[briztoon]

But you seem to put a blanket knock on everyone in the industry. Delivering us what really is ,I've got no idea what that means.

These days we can see what really is for ourselves with every match televised. Journo's and commentators have always put their own spin on that which is what they're paid to do. Don't see any difference between them and the commentators of previous eras. In fact they couldn't beat Mike Williamson ,Jack ,Lou and Bob and a multitude of others for spin ,drama and just making stuff up half the time.

Nothing's changed except now they use a vast range of data , statistics and vision to back up their point of view , often not that successfully ,but the truth is there's never been more means for the public to make up its own mind than there is today.

I believe Mighty Lions is referring to the things we don’t see or hear.

Such as what really went on between Zorko & Petty last year.

Or what happens off field, on the training ground, etc.


Many on here (myself included) are still in the dark on what “really” happened in that Melbourne game.


This asked directly to Mighty Lions.

In the absence of accurate reporting, in the media, or via social media, what else are we supposed to believe?

There are reported stories in the media. In the absence of word from the club setting the record straight, what else are we supposed to believe or listen to?

You can’t criticise people’s opinions if they only have limited sources of information (what’s reported in the media), nor can you have a crack at individuals on platforms such as this, if clubs or players aren’t willing to put their “truth” in the public sphere.

 

[martinson]

I believe Mighty Lions is referring to the things we don’t see or hear.

Such as what really went on between Zorko & Petty last year.

Or what happens off field, on the training ground, etc.


Many on here (myself included) are still in the dark on what “really” happened in that Melbourne game.


This asked directly to Mighty Lions.

In the absence of accurate reporting, in the media, or via social media, what else are we supposed to believe?

There are reported stories in the media. In the absence of word from the club setting the record straight, what else are we supposed to believe or listen to?

You can’t criticise people’s opinions if they only have limited sources of information (what’s reported in the media), nor can you have a crack at individuals on platforms such as this, if clubs or players aren’t willing to put their “truth” in the public sphere.

I think I spent 3 days on here Britzoon defending Zorko and letting everyone know there was much more to it than what was reported.

The media only reported what Richardson and Melbourne used to their strategic advantage and in the absence of anything from our club other than an 'apology' that was the narrative.

The club chose to deal with the issue with dignified acceptance and in hindsight that wasn't a bad call.

People always jump the gun with their opinions on anything . Often there are broader issues involved.

On your main point there's a media cynicism from those involved with any professional sporting club these days whereby they think the media is out to get them on the one hand but on the other hand need and use the media when they deem fit.

I don't think any of us are entitled to know the inner workings of the club or whatever issues are cropping up but that shouldn't prevent anyone tossing their opinion out there on the cesspool that is SM on the basis of what they perceive .

 

[Mighty Lions]

But you seem to put a blanket knock on everyone in the industry. Delivering us what really is ,I've got no idea what that means.

These days we can see what really is for ourselves with every match televised. Journo's and commentators have always put their own spin on that which is what they're paid to do. Don't see any difference between them and the commentators of previous eras. In fact they couldn't beat Mike Williamson ,Jack ,Lou and Bob and a multitude of others for spin ,drama and just making stuff up half the time.

Nothing's changed except now they use a vast range of data , statistics and vision to back up their point of view , often not that successfully ,but the truth is there's never been more means for the public to make up its own mind than there is today.

A lot has changed.....Commentators have people behind the scenes giving them direction on where to go with a story or situation at that time.

Using Briztoon's example of the recent Petty-Zorko sitaution, the media knew the facts but didnt report them until later because that wasn't the story they wanted to run with initially. In the meantime, Zorko's reputation was dis-credited by the hour which is wrong. Holding onto facts about a situation happens all the time and I'm not saying it doesnt happen in other non-footy situations but if you believe what footy journos say or write 100%, more fool you in my opinion. There are many other situations where the truth or actuals are not important to a story and I hate it. Shows like 360/On The Couch/#9 Footy Show are all gulity of it as is some of the commentary in every game I watch on the box.
Not critisising anyones opinions as accused in a previous post, just dis-agreeing with them is all.

 

[Sanchez365]

The footy medias biggest problem is that it's analysis is shallow at best and disproportionate to teams across the league.

It's generally not much better then tabloid garbage and to make it worse is gatekept to the point that data isn't offered to the layman so they can draw their own conclusions.

The fact we have so few professional commentators / analysists amongst a sea of ex players that dribble on about nothing is a detriment to the game.

 

[Viceregal]

The fact that the game day thread on big footy provides me with more in depth analysis of what is happening in the game than the commentary team does is a sad reflection on the state of commentary (or kudos to the quality of our posters (or both))