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Chapter 1: What is the main topic discussed in this episode?
Breakfast with Gary and Tim. It's alright.
Great to have you with us. It's Hall of Fame day and night tonight. So new inductees going to the Hall of Fame, a legend that's already been announced. And then tomorrow the state funeral for Neil Danaher as well. So a big couple of days.
It is a big couple of days. You and I are sitting at the same table tonight. I'm thinking of taking my autograph book tonight and just working the room and just... Is that okay just to sidle up to some of the old superstars of the game and just ask them for a signature?
I won't be selling it. Back-to-back premiership coach. He'll be happy to sign something for the little wispies. His name's Chris Fagan. Been good enough to join us, Fags. Welcome. G'day, Gary, Tim. Hi, folks. We're going well, mate. All the better for talking to you. What a terrific performance from your boys on the weekend.
It was, I don't know, for great supporters of the Brisbane Lions, my faith was rocked or shaken a little bit because I kept expecting that performance the week earlier or the week earlier than that, but it was a very timely reminder that your football side has still got a big say in proceedings.
Yeah, it was a good relief. It's been a while since we've lost three games in a row. I think that happened at the start of 2024, so an unusual circumstance for us, fortunately. I felt good after the Fremantle game, to be honest. We finished that game really well.
I think we had 28 shots on goal that night and a lot of inside 50s, so we did quite a bit right and went down by 25 points against Fremantle.
the informed team of the comps so we took a little bit of heart from that sort of the day after that 3-0 game I rang or called up with every player individually just to find out how they were going with it all and from those conversations it sort of became pretty clear to me that we needed to lighten up a little bit around the place and just have some pretty simple focuses coming into the Gold Coast game and
That's what we did and it seems as if that has worked and hopefully we can continue our form. on from the way that we played on Saturday because we did play a very good game, I thought.
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Chapter 2: What insights does Chris Fagan share about the Brisbane Lions' recent performance?
having a little bit more fun. So, uh, what's that look like?
How do you lighten them up?
Oh, not too much detail with team meetings, pretty simple focuses coming into games. Um, sort of talk probably a little bit more about the attacking side of the game rather than the defensive side of the game, which I've been talking about for weeks because we were going no good at it. Funnily enough, I didn't speak about it last week. We keep them 20 shots and a reasonably low score.
It's the quirks of coaching. Sometimes the logical thing to do isn't the right thing to do.
You're always learning. That's the thing, isn't it? You're always learning on the job and you're trying to read people and that mood. Did you sense that the mood around was getting heavy or were you not able to sense that?
Yeah, no, I could because I know they've got high expectations of themselves and so has everybody else. So that can be a double whammy sometimes. So... Yeah, it was something I had in the back of my mind, but I needed to talk to them all individually just to find out if what I thought was on the money.
And leadership, what role does leadership play in all this from your perspective? You mean the team leaders? Yeah, the team leaders, yeah.
Yeah, so we had a good conversation with them after the Fremantle game. We always meet on a Monday for... for about an hour. And, uh, you know, that's probably, I always consider that my most important meeting of the week because they, they give you an insight into, into the group as well. And they are the ones that obviously, um, control the mood to some degree.
And, uh, I'd already done those telephone conversations the day before. So, um, the meeting we had last week was more of a chat about, about what I, what I've noticed and what I've heard and their role in, in, uh, keeping the place up and about, uh, last week. And they're a really good group to, to work with, uh, a very dedicated group of leaders and very experienced groups.
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Chapter 3: How does Chris Fagan handle pressure and expectations within the team?
So I think I'll just leave it at that. I just, yeah, I'm not... too involved in the private lives of my players, to be honest.
We understand. We appreciate you giving us some comment on it. Hughie McCluggage out. Eric Hipwood to play this week. Kitty Coleman, I'm not sure where he's at. Can you give us an update on a few of those?
Yeah, so guys like McCluggage, Zorko, Kitty Coleman, they're probably going to be four or five weeks away. Maybe three at best. Eric Hipwood's available again this weekend to play. He's been training the house down for a couple of months now. It's more of a conversation now about whether we put him straight back in or we bring him back through the reserves.
In the past, when he's had his ACL, we brought him straight back in and we tended to do that with our players because I do think our conditioning team do a great job with them. So, like, for example, Cam Rayner came straight back in after his ACL, so did Will Ashcroft. So that's the decision that we face this week. But he'd be a handy acquisition for us without any doubt.
Hey, Faggs. We're talking to Chris Fagan, Brisbane Lions coach. We know that you were close to Neil. You spent a lot of time with him. You were great mates as well. Did you ever get the chance or did you ever feel the need to sit down and maybe interview him or transcribe his philosophies on the game?
Or did you feel that over so many conversations, you really understood what he thought about the game and how to play and how to manage people?
Yeah, I didn't write anything down. It's all indelibly stamped in my mind. I worked with him for 10 years and we were in each other's hip pocket, I reckon, for most of that period of time. So I knew exactly how he thought about things and obviously we've stayed in great close contact since that period of time.
And, you know, he always passes on his ideas and philosophies to me when he thinks I might need them.
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Chapter 4: What strategies does Chris Fagan use to communicate with his players?
a little bit of help. I remember one of his great bits of advice to me when I first started coaching the Brisbane Lions was saying, as an AFL coach, you have to be a great actor sometimes. And never a truer word has been said. You know, in the last few weeks when the team's not going any good, who's the flattest bloke in the building? The coach. But you're not allowed to shout, right?
So that was his message.
And I'm sure you watched yesterday and over the weekend, the tributes have been amazing.
Yeah, they have been, and deservedly so. You know, what he's done is just amazing. I find it hard to believe what he's done, to be truthful, given the way his health was, you know, continuously declining over that 12-year period. Just to have the energy to do what he's done has been astonishing. And also, you know, it speaks volumes for his family too. I think Jan's been amazing.
It wouldn't have been easy with all the... all the things that Neil had to do to have a reasonable quality of life day to day, and Jan and the family provided that, so it's been a huge effort. I think everyone in this country will never forget Neil Danaher for what he's been able to do and the attitude he's shown in adversity.
And given that you said before that Neil said that sometimes a coach has to act, did you really tear the hamstring off the bone or was that just you pretending that the hamstring had been torn off the bone?
No, no, that was real, Tim. I heard it. I knew I was in a bit of trouble, but anyway, it gave the big freeze a bit of publicity for another couple of days, which is a good thing.
One of the great moments. Exactly. Hey, back to Tassie on Sunday. What does that evoke all sorts of memories heading back down there?
Yeah, I'm looking forward to... It's an odd picture, isn't it, playing Richmond in Hobart? Anyway, at Bellweave Oval, which happens to be about 200 metres up the road from where my dear mum lives. Oh, perfect. So I'll be able to catch up with her, have memories of playing at that Oval. I just hope it's not a windy day because that can cause chaos to the football.
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