Playing on gravel and ‘off the charts’ strength: Inside bloody origins of AFL’s ‘best’ coach

As a boy chasing the footy on a ground infamously known in Tasmania’s west as ‘The Gravel’, Chris Fagan was no stranger to being bruised, bloodied and bloody cold as well.

Growing up in Queenstown, it was a rarity where players were not doused in the red paint – merthiolate or versions of that – that was once common to treat scrapes and abrasions.

And it used to sting like hell. Talk about toughening you up for future endeavours like coaching an AFL footy club.

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Named the AFL’s coach of the year for the second time this week, the character of the 63-year-old was forged with fire in this region.

In a forward for Gravel & Mud, the Brisbane coach wrote about powerful role models who were part of the “spirit and togetherness of the mighty West Coast”.

“When I think about it, Queenstown, the town and the people who lived there, have had such a positive influence on my life,” he said.

“We were a tough, tight and resilient community that, by and large, cared deeply for each other, even though when it came to sport, the level of competitiveness was fierce. Just as it should be!”

The Lions coach touched on how his love of football flourished through this period, but also how it helped him become aware of the power drawn from understanding others.

He described the excitement he would get from reading the columns his dad Austin, who died in 2019, penned for The Advocate during his playing and coaching days in the region, saying it turned out to be an “important part of my football education”.

“He wrote with passion and intelligence about the game and people he cherished. He coached with a similar empathy and care for his players,” Fagan wrote in the forward.

“He was a role model to me in the way he lived his life, his competitive instinct, his generosity towards people and the way he cared for our family.”

Five decades on from this phase in Fagan’s life, it is clear the apple has not dropped far from the tree, to judge by those who have witnessed and played under the Brisbane coach.

Seeking to guide the Lions to their first flag since 2003 when they tackle Sydney at the MCG on Saturday, the core of Fagan’s character was shaped by his time on the Apple Isle.

Lions chairman Andrew Wellington, who also grew up playing on some ragged grounds in Western Australia, noted you “learnt the importance of holding your feet” on those grounds. And, indisputably, the importance of holding your nerve and ground when needed.

“The environment that Chris was a product of, obviously that’s played some role with the sort of person he has become and the values that he had. His dad would have been playing footy in a tough environment there,” Wellington told foxsports.com.au.

A LEGEND OF THE APPLE ISLE

Fagan is the only current AFL coach not to play at the elite level – he trialled unsuccessfully with Essendon as a teenager – but that does not diminish his excellence as a player, for he was a star in Tasmania.

He won Best and Fairests with Hobart and Sandy Bay and played in a premiership with Davenport. Sharp in front of goal, he was Sandy Bay’s leading goalkicker from 1983 to 1985.

He also represented Tasmania nine times in State of Origin games and, after a stint coaching at Sandy Bay, coached the Mariners in the TAC Cup. The junior crop he was in charge of produced 18 draftees and four Hall of Fame inductees. He is a legend in Tassie.

Neale Daniher offered him a chance at Melbourne when taken by a letter Fagan sent to AFL clubs seeking an opportunity on the mainland. The Hawks ultimately poached him in 2006 after Daniher’s time at the Demons came to an end.

His ability to accelerate the development of younger players was a feature at both clubs. Also evident was his empathy and understanding that footballers came in all shapes and sizes, and from different walks of life. Nuance, flexibility and understanding was required.

As dual-premiership Hawk and 2007 best-and-fairest Brad Sewell told foxsports.com.au prior to last Saturday’s preliminary final against Geelong, he earned trust through excellence.

“From that player development role at Melbourne, he became Neale Daniher and ‘Clarko’s’ (Alastair Clarkson) most trusted adviser, their sounding board and confidante,” Sewell said.

“With his extraordinary record and experience in the game at AFL level, there is nothing he hasn’t seen or dealt with. During our unprecedented period of success, Fages was the guiding hand and that soft touch that Clarko relied upon to help keep us on track.”

THE BENEFITS OF PATIENCE

Brisbane was at a low-point at the end of favourite son Justin Leppitsch’s time as coach in 2016.

Triple-premiership captain Michael Voss had taken the Lions to the finals in 2009 but the club went into a tailspin afterwards.

Attendances dropped. Talent kept leaving. And wins were increasingly hard to come by, with Leppitsch managing just 14 in three years.

Leigh Matthews, who coached the Lions to three flags between 2001 and 2003, advised the board to ensure at least one quarter of the list hailed from Brisbane, with investment in its academy bolstered as a result.

Kids including Hugh McCluggage and Jarrod Berry were drafted from western Victoria deliberately, with recruiters suspecting the reduced spotlight on AFL players in Brisbane would suit blokes from the bush.

But the club required someone capable of developing and nurturing talent.

Even though Fagan had never coached at senior level in the AFL, his record in Tasmania was strong and so, too, his track-record as a right-hand man alongside the league’s elite.

West Coast premiership coach Adam Simpson, who also played in a flag with North Melbourne, served part of his apprenticeship at Hawthorn when Fagan was footy boss.

“His empathy is off the charts and so is his ability to read players,” he said of AFL 360 on Thursday night.

“I think we’re underestimating his footy nous. I saw it first hand (though) I didn’t really look at him as a potential senior coach when I was an assistant coach. I saw him as a real mentor … but he was also a great manager of people.”

Wellington, who was on the Brisbane board when they appointed Fagan, told foxsports.com.au that Fagan’s teaching background in Tasmania appealed to the Lions.

“Bob Sharpless was the chair at the time … and we discussed it as a board and Greg Swann was clear in his recommendation that, just where the list was at, it was very young and we felt that we needed someone who had strong empathy for young players who were facing the challenges of AFL football early in their career, and someone who had a strong teaching ethos,” he said.

“And Chris, the outcome of the process was, or the recommendation was that Chris ticked both those boxes and he came highly recommended with players and other coaches that he had worked with during his footy life, so that was the reason he was appointed. And I think he has certainly displayed those qualities throughout his time here.

“One of the things that’s really noticeable, particularly in the early days when it was a little bit bumpy for the first couple years, was that he very deliberately created an environment where people wanted to come to work and he also created an environment where people were not frightened of making mistakes. They weren’t fearful of making mistakes.”

As a case in point, a video circulated this week of the method with which Fagan embraced Cam Rayner after he missed a set shot that would have given the Lions a win over North Melbourne at the Gabba late in 2018.

Fast forward to last Saturday and it was the former No. 1 draft pick who kicked the sealer against Geelong with a sizzling left foot goal on the run from outside 50m.

“We knew that they were you players and it was a young group and that mistakes were going to be made, and I think he was really successful in fostering that environment and still is,” Wellington said.

“He allows players to be themselves and allows players to enjoy themselves. That doesn’t mean they’re not accountable. He holds the players accountable and I know they have open and honest conversations about their performances at times and mistakes that have been made.

“But he doesn’t hang players out to dry. He doesn’t have them in a state of mind where they’re frightened of making mistakes. I think that’s been really important.”

A LEGEND’S CONFESSION

Hawthorn’s three-time premiership captain Luke Hodge, who was lured out of retirement by Fagan to serve effectively as a playing assistant coach in defence, was among those surprised by the appointment, but only for one reason.

Just as Sewell cheekily dubbed Fagan the “grandfather of the AFL”, Hodge thought age would count against him, despite being the man he would approach for advice during his tenure as captain.

“When I was told he was going for the Brisbane job and they said, ‘What do you think?’. And I said, ‘He won’t get that. He’s too old,’” he told SEN’s Whateley this week.

“How wrong have I been? He’s done a fantastic job at that football club. (Chief executive) Greg Swann went up there at the same time, (John) Noble as well, and they had stability off the field which has flown onto the football field.

“For him to be coach of the year for the second time, it just shows what kind of person he is, what kind of coach he is, but also shows the respect he’s got amongst his peers as well.”

Hodge was not always convinced by the “softly, softly approach” Fagan embraced early on, saying he urged the veteran mentor to “be harder on them” towards the tail-end of his first season in Brisbane.

“They are making mistakes and you are saying that is OK? They have got to learn. Give them a little bit of tough love,” Hodge said he told Fagan.

“But he wouldn’t do that. He would be firm in saying, ‘No. I’ve got to build their confidence. I’ve got to let these boys know that I’ve got their back, and if they make a mistake, I’m OK with that, as long as we’re improving.’”

But just as Wellington said the players are accountable to Fagan when required, Hodge said it would be a mistake not to get too carried away by his reputation for empathy. Not surprisingly, the boy from Queenstown has some “gravel” in him as well.

“There’s been a few games this year where he has gone the leaders at half-time and they have responded,” he said.

“You do see a guiding, gentle, calm figure, but he does have the ability to be hard and hit the players between the eyes. I don’t think you can just be one way as a coach.

“There has to be times when you can flip and understand when it is time to raise your voice and crack it.”

TURNING BRISBANE INTO A DESTINATION CLUB

The results are one thing, with the Lions playing in their second straight grand final after finishing in the top eight for the past six seasons in succession.