We know that the 2026 grand final will be the final time that Lachie Neale takes the field for the Brisbane Lions, a fact established by the AFL appeals tribunal’s astonishing verdict less than 48 hours before the game.
asserted
Neale → know → game
What is much less certain, yet no less important, is the possibility that this will be the final game in the extraordinary story – and it is a hell of a story, rather than a mere “career” – of Chris Fagan’s period as coach of a club that was anchored near the bottom when he took the wheel 10 years ago.
asserted
he → anchor → wheel
Then, the Lions struggled to retain young talent, much less land players with the standing of Neale and Luke Hodge, and were mired in a mountain of debt that reached frightening levels, and rendered the Lions reliant on heavy AFL backing.
asserted
Lions → struggle → backing
While the see-sawing Neale tribunal circus has owned pre-grand final coverage, Fagan’s future has been a subterranean topic, in a manner befitting the coach’s understated style.
asserted
future → saw → style
Fagan is not an artful dodger when handling media, or anyone.
asserted
Fagan → handle → media
And so when the question of his immediate future arose at Friday’s media conference, he didn’t duck it.
asserted
he → arise → it
He started by saying that he was focusing on the grand final, and that every year, he had a discussion with the club chief executive and president.
asserted
he → start → executive
He would do the same again this post-season.
asserted
He → do → same
“But I honestly don’t know at this point in time whether I’ll keep going or not.”
asserted
I → know → time
He added: “But I was like that last year and the year before.
asserted
I → add → year
“There’ll be a few more discussions about that, but it’s not the big issue.
asserted
it → ’ → that
It’s not the big issue, in part, because Fagan doesn’t allow it to be so.
asserted
it → ’ → part
Leigh Matthews, with characteristic straight talk, had put the issue of Fagan’s future on the agenda on Fox Footy this week, speculating that this finale might be Fagan’s last game.
Matthews, who has dinner with Fagan every Wednesday during footy season, was wearing his hat as commentator, rather than as Brisbane Lions board member and confidant of the coach.
uncertain
who → put → coach
Lions chairman Andrew Wellington told this masthead that he expected Fagan to coach in 2027, as contracted.
asserted
Fagan → tell → 2027
His manager James Henderson said: “We often talk about the future, always have.
asserted
We → say → future
Our last D&M [deep and meaningful conversation] about this was at the start of July when he was excited as ever in his belief of this playing group.
asserted
he → play → group
“Since then, he’s been fully focused on getting Brisbane deep into September, and being in their fourth grand final in a row is a special achievement for everyone involved in the club.
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being → focus → club
“It’s well known that he reflects at the end of each season, and this year will be no different.”
asserted
year → know → season
Whether Fagan opts to continue in 2027 and either chase a fourth flag on end, or seek atonement for a second grand final defeat, his legacy in Brisbane – and impact on the AFL competition – is secure.
asserted
legacy → opt → competition
Fagan’s 10 years as senior coach have transformed not simply the Brisbane Lions, but the clubs’ conception of what matters in coaching, and the kind of people who can helm the headphones at AFL clubs.
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who → transform → clubs
Fagan defies the typical template of an AFL senior coach on multiple levels.
asserted
Fagan → defy → levels
He is the only AFL senior coach who didn’t play at the highest level (he was an excellent footballer in Tasmania’s state leagues).
asserted
he → play → leagues
When hired by the Lions, at the recommendation of then AFL football boss Mark Evans, who’d worked with “Fages” at Melbourne alongside Neale Daniher and at Hawthorn in their four-flag dynasty, he had been working as Hawthorn’s football operations chief and had not “coached” per se for several years.
asserted
he → hire → years
Current AFL football boss Greg Swann, then CEO at the Lions, and ex-Hawthorn coach and Lions list manager Peter Schwab, had met with Fagan to ascertain his interest.
asserted
Swann → meet → interest
Schwab had wondered if Fagan was genuinely interested in coaching.
asserted
Fagan → wonder → coaching
After a three-hour meeting, they had their answer.
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they → have → answer
Lions chairman Wellington, then on the board, said although there were many factors behind the Brisbane turnaround, “the decision to appoint Chris ... I think is the most significant of all the various factors.”
asserted
I → say → factors
At the urging of Daniher, for whom Fagan had served as right-hand man for most of their Demon days, Essendon had sounded out Fagan for their senior coaching role at the end of 2015.
asserted
Essendon → serve → 2015
The Dons would opt for the safe hands of John Worsfold to lead them through the imminent crisis of mass suspensions.
asserted
Dons → opt → suspensions
Fagan’s success has re-defined the role of senior coach as one that is less reliant on tactical advances than on the more crucial management of players, culture and staff.
asserted
that → re → players
In a time when Michael Voss has been discarded by a second club, James Hird’s attempt to return to Essendon has been scuppered, and Nathan Buckley is retooling at Geelong in the hope of a second coming, Fagan has underscored that senior coaches need not be Alpha male ex-AFL captains, or even ex-AFL players, that teaching backgrounds are helpful (he was a teacher) and that relationships with players is the foundation of success.
asserted
relationships → discard → success
North Melbourne’s unsparing assessment of Alastair Clarkson at that notorious August media conference was marked by the hierarchy’s wish for a “modern coach” who could teach the modern game, and for the suggestion that Clarkson had communication issues with North’s young list.
uncertain
Clarkson → mark → list
Therein lies another Fagan-ism that contradicts the perceived template for 2026 coaches: the oldest coach is among the best at connecting with Gen-Z footballers.
asserted
coach → lie → footballers
How does Fagan, 65 and a grandfather, bond with and extract commitment from players who are younger than his children?
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who → bond → children
“I think you just be open-minded and trust people,” said Wellington, likening Fagan’s perceptive insights into people to that of Matthews.
asserted
Wellington → think → Matthews
“He doesn’t go out and get on the beers with them, or do those sort of things to connect ...
asserted
He → go → things
This might sound a bit cliched, but he genuinely cares about them and you can’t fake that.
uncertain
you → sound → that
“He genuinely cares about every one of them, and they know that, and you can’t underestimate that.”
asserted
you → care → that
Evans felt Fagan’s management method was based on reciprocal loyalty:
asserted
method → feel → loyalty
“The amount of time he invests in them shows them great loyalty and the result is that they are incredibly loyal to him,” he said.
asserted
he → invest → him
…and 23 more, not listed.
The Aporia
