Kelli Underwood: Neale Daniher’s life-changing phone call to Chris Fagan began unbreakable bond
Chris Fagan was at the top of a ferris wheel when he received a phone call that would change his life. At the other end was Neale Daniher, writes KELLI UNDERWOOD.
Chris Fagan was at the top of the ferris wheel at the Royal Hobart Show in the late 1990s when he received a phone call that would change his life.
The qualified teacher was with his two young daughters when he answered the call. It was Neale Daniher. The Melbourne coach was offering Fagan a job as his reserves and development coach.
The Tasmanian Team of the Century player was stunned.
Twenty-five years on, Fagan still doesn’t know why Daniher chose him. But the AFL legend clearly saw something in the Tasmanian that would one day lead him to the coaches box at the MCG, on the final Saturday in September.
On Fagan’s first day at Junction Oval, Daniher introduced him to the AFL playing group, which included names like Garry Lyon, Jim Stynes, Todd Viney and David Neitz. He mumbled a few words and then disappeared into the background. And that’s where he stayed for the next 10 years, watching, learning and forging an unbreakable bond with Daniher.
Fagan’s journey from Daniher’s right-hand man to becoming the oldest man to coach in an AFL grand final, and just the second GF coach to not have played at the highest level, has been rocky.
After a decade with the Dees, he moved to Hawthorn to work with another feisty character, Alastair Clarkson. Together they won four premierships in nine years. Hawthorn people believe his most important role was keeping the intense Clarko under control.
In the past year, the 62-year-old has been investigated and cleared by the AFL over allegations of historic racism at Hawthorn, a claim that he’s categorically denied. And it’s far from over; former players are planning on taking their case to the Human Rights Commission. It’s a saga that left Fagan housebound, refusing to go out in public during daylight hours for fear of being abused.
Fagan moved north when Brisbane was a basket case, back in 2017. Finally, his dream of becoming a senior coach was fulfilled. But it was a left-field choice. The Lions had just endured the hurtful sacking of not one but two favourite sons, first Michael Voss and then Justin Leppitsch. And then there was the ‘Mummy’s Boys’: a handful of young players, including Elliot Yeo and Sam Docherty, who requested trades to return to their home state.
The club was a rock bottom and in Fagan’s first year, that’s where he led them. To the wooden spoon.
There were the delicate mental health issues surrounding Fagan’s first hand-picked captain, Dayne Beams. And for the last five years, the never-ending September stumbles. His game plans have been criticised for not adapting to finals football.
But over seven years, he’s rebuilt the Queensland club and even attracted A-graders, whereas years earlier players couldn’t get out of there quick enough. Joe Daniher, Lachie Neale, Josh Dunkley and Charlie Cameron have excelled under Fagan’s tutelage.
Amid the turmoil, this is a man who’s happy to take the mickey out of himself.
For a while, the Lions were revelling in dress-up Friday. Years earlier, Clarkson – who loves to dish out silly nicknames – claimed that Fagan resembled a character out of Shrek: Lord Farquaad. So one particular Friday, when the theme was ‘come as your favourite animated character’, Fagan hired the costume, whipped it on, and strutted into the team meeting, sending his players into fits of laughter.
This is a man who likes to have a laugh – even at his own expense.
Tomorrow, there will be no pre-game gags. The diminutive leader is notoriously tense before every game, keeping to himself during the warm-up as he strides over the ground, eyes fixated on the grass, his mind whizzing with what-ifs.
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And Daniher will be in the grandstand, despite his ongoing battled with motor neurone disease. He’ll be watching the man he plucked from obscurity follow in his footsteps by coaching in an AFL grand final. Neale, who lost the 2000 decider to Essendon, will also be there to cheer on his nephew, Lions goalkicking star Joe Daniher.
When Neale was diagnosed with the degenerative disease in 2013, he was told the average life expectancy was 27 months. It’s now been a decade and counting. So when the TV camera inevitably finds Daniher in the stands during the game, expect an uplifting reception. One that will bring a lump to your throat.
If the Lions win, Fagan will be back on top of the world, riding just as high as he did that day at the Hobart Show with his daughters more than 20 years ago.
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