Coaching Staff Chris Fagan - Coach
- Thread starter Elixuh
- Start date
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- Oct 8, 2018
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- AFL Club
- Brisbane Lions
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- Tassie Devils, Tasmania JackJumpers
ZoBlitz
The Ghost Who Walks
- Moderator
- #190
Five Years of Fagan
Chris Fagan will celebrate 100 senior coaching games this weekend, so we look back at his incredible journey as a Lion.
Chris Fagan, a football crusader for the everyday man, is heading into a fortnight in which he will claim an irrefutable place in AFL history.
Set to coach his 100th game against North Melbourne in Hobart on Saturday four days short of his 60th birthday, Fagan will be the 86th AFL coaching centurion and the oldest by a staggering seven years.
And in what is an amazing achievement for a man who did not play at AFL level, when he takes charge against Geelong at the Gabba on Thursday next week he will become just the seventh person in League history to coach beyond his 60th.
Fagan is set to add another line to his own trail-blazing career as he becomes just the third 100-game AFL coach behind John Worrall and ex-Adelaide and Melbourne coach Neil Craig who did not play in the elite competition.
A Tasmanian Football Hall of Famer who had long stints in coaching and football administration roles at Melbourne and Hawthorn before joining Brisbane, Fagan has been a football historian’s delight since he took the Lions to a two-point win over Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium in his first game in charge in Round 1 2017.
Then aged 55 years 275 days, proving the coaching caper is not all about young stars fresh out of the playing ranks, he was the oldest coaching debutant in AFL history.
Only seven others have coached for the first time beyond 50, including ex-Lions football boss and ex-Fitzroy player David Noble, who was 53 years 310 days in his first game at the North Melbourne helm this year.
In an ironic but sweet twist of fate, Fagan will return ‘home’ to coach his 100th game in Tasmania against fellow Tasmanian Noble, with whom he shared such a key time in the re-establishment of the Lions as a legitimate AFL force.
Even sweeter is the fact that the Round 14 meeting will be Fagan’s first as a coach at Hobart’s Bellerive Oval, not far from the old North Hobart Oval, home of Tasmanian football during most of his playing career including premierships with North Hobart in 1980 and ’88.
Fagan will displace ex-St Kilda coach Alan Richardson as the League’s oldest 100-gamer coach. Richardson was 53 years 16 days in his 100th in 2018.
The oldest AFL coach is Frank Hughes, who came out of retirement at 71 years 148 days to coach Melbourne in Round 13 1965 when Norm Smith was on representative duties. Second oldest on an all-star list of coaching old-timers is McHale (66) ahead of Kevin Sheedy (65), Mick Malthouse (61) and John Kennedy Snr (60).
Fagan, the 11th Brisbane coach, is the club’s fourth 100-gamer behind Leigh Matthews (237), Robert Walls (109) and Michael Voss (109).
Walls, inducted into the Lions Hall of Fame in 2019, has a special place in club history – he is also one of just two 100-game Fitzroy coaches. He coached Fitzroy 115 times. The other 100-gamer among 40 Fitzroy coaches was Bill Stephen (212).
Fagan’s 100th game will be a celebration for most of the Lions’ football team on Saturday.
Significantly, in a pointer to the club’s recent success, the man in charge has had virtually the same off-field team throughout his five-year reign.
The only significant change was forced this year by Noble’s appointment as North coach and saw long-time strategy coach Danny Daly step up into Noble’s role and Mark Stone, former assistant-coach at Sydney, Fremantle at West Coast and a SANFL premiership coach with Glenelg, take Daly’s role.
Otherwise, the 15 others who might be considered a more senior part of the off-field ‘team’ have enjoyed every step of the Fagan journey with him – assistant-coaches Murray Davis, Ben Hudson, Dale Tapping and Jed Adcock, Head of Development Scott Borlace, Reserves coach Mitch Hahn, Academy head coach Josh Hunt and fellow Academy pair Paul Henriksen and Zane Littlejohn, High Performance Manager Damien Austin, medical chief Peter Blanch, List Manager Dom Ambrogio, Recruiting Manager Steve Conole, Welfare & Well-Being Manager Andrew Crowell and Football Administration Manager Nicole Duncan.
Only Daly, Davis, Hudson, Borlace, Hahn, Austin, Canole and Duncan were at the club before Fagan’s appointment by a panel that comprised CEO Greg Swann, Noble, Brownlow Medallist Simon Black, ex-Hawthorn coach Peter Schwab and psychologist Matti Clements.
THE FAGAN FACT FILE
Born in Queenstown, Tasmania, he has a Bachelor of Education and is a teacher by profession.
His first name isn’t Chris or Christopher … it’s Christian.
He played 263 games with Hobart, Sandy Bay and Devonport, represented Tasmania 11 times and coached the Tassie Mariners Under 18 team from 1995-97.
He got his AFL break in 1998 when appointed Reserves coach at Melbourne by then senior coach Neale Daniher. In 2014 Daniher said famously that “finding Chris Fagan was the best recruiting decision I made in all my time at Melbourne”. The pair remain very close even today as Daniher continues to fight Motor Neurone Disease.
Fagan will take a 49-50 win/loss record into in his 100th game – an outstanding result after he started 5-17 in each of his first two years when the focus was all about development. His best records are against Gold Coast (7-1), Carlton (4-1), Fremantle (4-1) and Hawthorn (4-2).
Hobart’s Bellerive Oval will be the 14th different venue where Fagan has coached. Not surprisingly, the Gabba has been his favourite hunting ground. He’s 30-22 at ‘home’ after starting 5-17 in the first two years. He’s 38-23 in Queensland, having gone 7-1 at Metricon and 1-0 at Cazaly’s Stadium in Cairns.
Fagan has coached 64 different players at the Lions, including 34 debutants. Of his 99 games, Dayne Zorko and Eric Hipwood have played 94, but with Zorko to miss the visit to Hobart through suspension Hipwood will head a top 10 that includes Hugh McCluggage (94), Daniel Rich (91), Harris Andrews (89), Dan McStay (87),Darcy Gardiner (86), Mitch Robinson (80), Jarrod Berry (77) and Stefan Martin (76).
Only eight members of the first Fagan side are still at the club – Zorko, Hipwood, Andrews, Rich, McStay, Gardiner, Robinson and Ryan Lester. Another six are playing elsewhere – Tom Rockliff and Sam Mayes (Port Adelaide), Martin (Western Bulldogs), Ben Keays (Adelaide), Lewis Taylor (Sydney) and Tom Cutler (Essendon).
ZoBlitz
The Ghost Who Walks
- Moderator
- #193
Chris Fagan Elevated To 'Legend' In Tasmania Hall Of Fame
One of the finest all-round contributors to the game of football that Tasmania has produced, Chris Fagan enjoyed a fine playing career before successfully turning his hand to coaching and administration.
Born in 1962, Chris Fagan spent the early part of his life in Queenstown on Tasmania’s west coast.
A talented footballer in his own right, Chris represented Tasmania at the 1978 Teal Cup competition in Adelaide aged 16, and was subsequently invited to have a trial match with Essendon. Although the VFL dream didn’t work out, Fagan was nevertheless destined for big things in football, and joined TANFL club Hobart in 1978. Over five seasons and 130 games Fagan’s impact at the Tigers as a fine rover/forward pocket was significant, playing in the 1980 premiership, winning the Best and Fairest the following season and representing his state for the first of 12 occasions.
In 1983 he joined Sandy Bay and spent five years with the Seagulls, claiming a Best and Fairest there too as well as three consecutive club goalkicking awards. After his work as a teacher saw him transferred to Sheffield in 1988, Fagan continued his career with Devonport, playing a key role in their 1988 Statewide League premiership before retiring after one final season with North Hobart after more than 250 senior games.
Upon retirement, Fagan turned his attention to coaching, firstly as an assistant at North Hobart under Mark Yeates. Fagan’s two years at the Demons in 1991-92 both resulted in premierships, and in 1993 he embarked on his first senior role with former club Sandy Bay. Fagan led the Seagulls for two years, including the club’s last finals appearance in 1994, before he was appointed as the inaugural coach of the Tassie Mariners in the TAC Cup competition, a role he would hold until 1997.
During his final season with the Mariners, Fagan circulated his resume around every AFL club in the hope of gaining an opportunity in development. The move paid off, with new Melbourne coach Neale Daniher appointing Fagan as coach of the Demons’ reserves, a role Fagan would hold until the disbanding of the reserves competition after the 1999 season.
After spending the next five years as a senior assistant under Daniher, Fagan was approached by newly appointed Hawthorn coach – and good friend – Alastair Clarkson to head up the Hawks’ football department. Though tempted, Fagan declined, as he was reluctant to abandon Daniher, who had given him his big break. Daniher’s sacking in mid-2007 broke this link however, and as a result Fagan headed to the Hawks in 2008 as Director of Coaching and Development. In this role he was responsible for the appointment and training of many assistant coaches who would go on to successful senior coaching careers, including Damian Hardwick, Luke Beveridge and Brendon Bolton, and gained a name as one of the foremost developmental minds in the game.
After temporarily serving as Hawthorn’s GM of Football in mid-2013, Fagan was appointed to the position permanently at season’s end, finally landing the role Clarkson had wanted him for eight years earlier. Fagan went on to enjoy great success in this endeavour, playing a key role in Hawthorn capturing their premiership hat-trick of 2013-15, however he still harboured ambitions to coach at the highest level, and in late-2016 that ambition was realised when he was appointed as Justin Leppitsch’s successor at the Brisbane Lions. His tough but fair approach and aptitude for nurturing young talent paid immediate dividends, with the young Lions scoring a thrilling two-point win over arch rivals Gold Coast in his first match in charge.
In 2016 the rebuild began, and since 2019 Fagan has led the Lions to four consecutive Finals series, achieving their strongest result in 2022 where they fell to eventual Premiers, Geelong.
PLAYING CAREER
- Around 130 games for Hobart, 1978-82
- Around 100 games for Sandy Bay, 1983-87
- Around 40 games for Devonport, 1988-89
- Around 20 games for North Hobart, 1990
- Hobart TANFL premiership, 1980
- Devonport TFL Statewide League premiership, 1988
- Hobart Best and Fairest, 1981
- Sandy Bay Best and Fairest, 1985
- Sandy Bay Leading Goalkicker, 1983 (56), 1984 (34), 1985 (50)
- 12 representative matches for Tasmania
- Tasmanian Teal Cup (U18) representative, 1978
COACHING/ADMINISTRATION CAREER
- North Hobart Assistant Coach, 1991-92
- Sandy Bay senior coach, 1993-94 (39 Games: 18 Wins, 21 Losses)
- Tassie Mariners coach (State U18), 1995-97
- Melbourne AFL reserves coach, 1998-99 (44 Games: 30 Wins, 13 Losses, 1 Draw)
- Melbourne assistant coach, 2000-04
- Melbourne General Manager Football Operations, 2005-07
- Hawthorn Head of Coaching and Development, 2008-13
- Hawthorn General Manager of Football Operations, 2013-16
- Brisbane Lions Senior coach, 2017-Present (*154 Games: 86 Wins, 68 Losses)
