Coach Fages and the coaching group

[McIvor]

I need 10 towels. 5 for the egg on my face and 5 to wipe the shit up that I dribbled!!

I’ll be joining you; I put my foot in about Fages after the GWS game and I couldn’t have been more wrong although I had changed my tune about a month or so after that.

After today, Fages stays as long as he pleases. I’m already teeing up re-listening to that Roar Deal podcast from pre season when the boys had Fages in on stage. I recall Fages talking about what he learnt from many great sporting leaders from around the world at that sports conference last off season so it will be interesting listening to it again in retrospect.

 

[T Rick]

View attachment 2125335
I want this tattooed on me

This has to be one of the best photos ever in the history of our Club

 

[martinson]

One of the most unedifying thing about blogs , or sports scribes of any description in common, is the people who can't enjoy the success moments without going in to who said what mode.

Everyone says stupid shit . In hindsight. Everyone's entitled to change their mind. Everyone can be wrong. It doesn't mean they're not as invested as anyone who thinks they might have been right.

For the most part I've enjoyed the bakes and the melts . That's been a hallmark of footy club supporters ever since I've been involved. Two games later they're all cheering.

The ones I don't enjoy are the media bashings when things aren't going well. That impacts on peoples' families.

 

[Sproj]

One of the most unedifying thing about blogs , or sports scribes of any description in common, is the people who can't enjoy the success moments without going in to who said what mode.

Everyone says stupid shit . In hindsight. Everyone's entitled to change their mind. Everyone can be wrong. It doesn't mean they're not as invested as anyone who thinks they might have been right.

For the most part I've enjoyed the bakes and the melts . That's been a hallmark of footy club supporters ever since I've been involved. Two games later they're all cheering.

The ones I don't enjoy are the media bashings when things aren't going well. That impacts on peoples' families.

Yeah but we can still laugh at idiots like King and Lloyd.

 

[martinson]

From a coaching perspective there are 2 things that had a big impact ( from the outside ) on turning our season around.

We brought some younger players in and rejigged our forward line with Lohman, Morris and Ah Chee . Players who had been role players their whole career such as Lester and Ah Chee became matchwinners in finals. The huge void Kiddy left was filled by Zorko.

Who knows what this had to do with it but since Cotchin and Dew came on board we've nailed the big moments more often than not whereas previously we'd coughed them up more often than not.

 

[Simbatheking21]

This has to be one of the best photos ever in the history of our Club

100 % agree with that

 

[martinson]

Also huge kudos to our backline coach Dale Morris.

The way those guys played as a cohesive defensive unit helping each other and still be able to play attacking footy was a major factor in our back half of the year.

 

[Elixuh]

From a coaching perspective there are 2 things that had a big impact ( from the outside ) on turning our season around.

We brought some younger players in and rejigged our forward line with Lohman, Morris and Ah Chee . Players who had been role players their whole career such as Lester and Ah Chee became matchwinners in finals. The huge void Kiddy left was filled by Zorko.

Who knows what this had to do with it but since Cotchin and Dew came on board we've nailed the big moments more often than not whereas previously we'd coughed them up more often than not.

Brisbane Lions legend Trent Cotchin.

 

[martinson]

Brisbane Lions legend Trent Cotchin.

We're slowly getting Richmond back for whatever they did to us.

Two more flags to go.

 

[frenchconnection]

Scrolling through this. Fair few of you should be buying premiership towels to wash all the egg off your faces. Go lions, go Fages.

From an opposition supporter tipped you as flag winners from the start of this season as felt it was your time having been thereabouts over the last few years although you had me worried in the early part of the season. Congrats to coaches, players and supporters - well done as your playing group were just superb!

 

[Grasshopper17]

We were 1-5 in finals after 2021. Now 9-7. It was fair to question it a little but it’s been disproven now.

It just seems like we've been able to add layers to the various aspects of our game. Our ball movement was essentially quite static a lot of the time, long down the line even up to and including 2022. Similarly, we adopted primarily a one on one defensive setup which brought us undone repeatedly in 2022. Both these relatively simple styles of play worked reasonably well against lesser teams, particularly as we usually won clearances. But it would often fall short against the best and in finals, which was one of the key criticisms of Fagan and the team.

We really fleshed out our defensive framework over the last 2 summers, adding the ability to roll around onto different opponents behind the ball, allowing us to come off our man and forward at the ball when necessary. I thought our defence was as solid as it's ever been this year. And it needed to be given we also fleshed out our ball movement.

Obviously we adopted more of a kick-mark, lateral style of play during 2023, but then in September this year we rolled out the chaos module as well which proved spectacularly successful. But both of these only work because our defence has been so solid; both are high risk styles of play which leaves a poor defensive system heavily exposed. The way our attack and defence dovetailed so perfectly into each other yesterday was quite phenomenal to watch live at the ground.

One thing we can guarantee in 2025: we WILL get found out. It happened anyway at stages this year and now 17 teams will be studying us for 6 months. If we're to continue to compete we will need to progress again. Our game will need to look different again in 9 or 10 months.

 

[Sproj]

It just seems like we've been able to add layers to the various aspects of our game. Our ball movement was essentially quite static a lot of the time, long down the line even up to and including 2022. Similarly, we adopted primarily a one on one defensive setup which brought us undone repeatedly in 2022. Both these relatively simple styles of play worked reasonably well against lesser teams, particularly as we usually won clearances. But it would often fall short against the best and in finals, which was one of the key criticisms of Fagan and the team.

We really fleshed out our defensive framework over the last 2 summers, adding the ability to roll around onto different opponents behind the ball, allowing us to come off our man and forward at the ball when necessary. I thought our defence was as solid as it's ever been this year. And it needed to be given we also fleshed out our ball movement.

Obviously we adopted more of a kick-mark, lateral style of play during 2023, but then in September this year we rolled out the chaos module as well which proved spectacularly successful. But both of these only work because our defence has been so solid; both are high risk styles of play which leaves a poor defensive system heavily exposed. The way our attack and defence dovetailed so perfectly into each other yesterday was quite phenomenal to watch live at the ground.

One thing we can guarantee in 2025: we WILL get found out. It happened anyway at stages this year and now 17 teams will be studying us for 6 months. If we're to continue to compete we will need to progress again. Our game will need to look different again in 9 or 10 months.

I think we will evolve again, particularly with some of the players to come back but even if not, it is one thing to know what it is, it is another thing to stop it. Our multiple gears and game styles we now have will make us really hard to defend against moving forward.

 

[mpal6]

It just seems like we've been able to add layers to the various aspects of our game. Our ball movement was essentially quite static a lot of the time, long down the line even up to and including 2022. Similarly, we adopted primarily a one on one defensive setup which brought us undone repeatedly in 2022. Both these relatively simple styles of play worked reasonably well against lesser teams, particularly as we usually won clearances. But it would often fall short against the best and in finals, which was one of the key criticisms of Fagan and the team.

We really fleshed out our defensive framework over the last 2 summers, adding the ability to roll around onto different opponents behind the ball, allowing us to come off our man and forward at the ball when necessary. I thought our defence was as solid as it's ever been this year. And it needed to be given we also fleshed out our ball movement.

Obviously we adopted more of a kick-mark, lateral style of play during 2023, but then in September this year we rolled out the chaos module as well which proved spectacularly successful. But both of these only work because our defence has been so solid; both are high risk styles of play which leaves a poor defensive system heavily exposed. The way our attack and defence dovetailed so perfectly into each other yesterday was quite phenomenal to watch live at the ground.

One thing we can guarantee in 2025: we WILL get found out. It happened anyway at stages this year and now 17 teams will be studying us for 6 months. If we're to continue to compete we will need to progress again. Our game will need to look different again in 9 or 10 months.

I think our core style is contested footy. We keep adding ball winners in the middle and build the layers like you said.

There is no magical, new style that we've unlocked this season like pies did in 2022 to be honest. Our brand is more blue collar like Giants and Swans but amplified by our repeat I50 + scoring power. So it'll hold up next season as well in my view.

 

[lionraven]

I think it shows that if the only metric you use to judge a coach is premierships, you end up dumping a fair amount of great coaches out with the bathwater.

C Scott, Longmire, Hinkley - one is considered a great legendary coach; one is considered a choker and one is considered a massive meme; all of their legacies could easily have been altered if less than a dozen games have their results altered

Fagan's journey shows that we should look beyond one result as a marker of a man. If Fagan had lost his winning percentage would barely changed. This premiership doesn't define Fagan (although it cements his legacy easier). What Fagan has done is turn a basketcase organisation a decade ago; into a strong organisation for the past 6 years. Its not just him - its a whole footy department working together to produce this. Just as quickly as things turned for us in 2019, so can things turn sour. Just look at Richmond - unbeatable dynasty team, recruiting and developing great players from nothing, a super coach and a great footy department head/ceo. Now they are likely to languish for a while in the bottom.

I think instead of put our frustrations onto the coach, the more important thing is to make sure we have the governance to be successful and keep winning with or without Fagan. Fagan's mantra of building relationships, getting the best people in and then letting them build their own legacy is what we should continue when Fagan departs. Football culture like that can fall away fast if it isnt preserved. Building it back up once its lost can become a never ending journey - just ask the Blues or the Broncos