Tasmanian Chris Fagan has been rewarded for his major part in Brisbane's rise to the premiership window, awarded coach of the year at the AFL Coaches Association annual dinner.
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Voted on by his peers, the Lions leader guided his side from a 15th-placed finish in 2018 to second this season, securing a double chance before bowing out of finals at the hands of the Giants two weeks ago.
AFLCA chief Mark Brayshaw paid tribute to the Queenstown-born main man, congratulating both him and fellow Tasmanian, development coach Zane Littlejohn in the process.
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"We're absolutely thrilled for Chris, in only his third year as a senior coach he's had an incredible season. His strong leadership and experiences are reaping reward in an exciting phase for the Lions," Brayshaw said.
"To the Lions board's credit, they trusted Chris to build a positive future, and it's paid off handsomely.
"We know this award is held in high esteem, because it's determined by the 190 AFL coaches. We congratulate Chris, his assistant and development coaches, and also those around and above Chris at Brisbane."
Fagan (361 votes) took home the award, named after Saints, Hawks and Tigers great Allan Jeans, by a considerable margin over grand final coaches GWS' Leon Cameron (238) and 2017 winner, Richmond's Damien Hardwick (206).
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The 58-year-old certainly plied his trade in the business before being officially being named Brisbane's head coach in October 2016.
Spending the entirety of his playing career in his home state, Fagan played 263 games across stints with Hobart, Sandy Bay and Devonport in the Tasmanian Australian National Football League and Tasmanian Football League before his move into coaching.
Starting as an assistant at North Hobart before a two-year head coaching role at Sandy Bay, Fagan became the inaugural Tassie Mariners leader, contributing to his AFL promotion.
Debuting as an assistant coach at Melbourne in 1999 and staying on for a nine-year period saw a grand final berth in 2000 with a move to Hawthorn as head of coaching and development bringing great success.
Shifting into the general manager of football role in 2013 until his move to the Lions, Fagan constructed a boom-time period for the Hawks, at the club for their four premierships with Alastair Clarkson in 2008, 2013, 2014 and 2015.
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