AFL
3 months ago
AFLCA announces Coach of the Year for 2024
By SEN
Brisbane’s Chris Fagan has been named the AFL Coaches Association Allan Jeans Senior Coach of the Year for 2024.
The 63-year-old has been rewarded by his peers for a season of resurgence after recovering from a 2-5 start to guide the Lions into a second straight Grand Final.
Fagan was the recipient of 272 votes to beat fellow Grand Final coach John Longmire from the Sydney Swans on 209 votes with Hawthorn’s Sam Mitchell third on 161.
“Being the recipient of the 2024 AFLCA Coach of the Year Award is a great honour,” Fagan said.
“I view it as recognition for everyone who is part of the coaching team at the Brisbane Lions – Cam Bruce, Murray Davis, Dale Morris, Scott Borlace, Ben Hudson, Daniel Lloyd and our GM of Football Danny Daly. Coaching an AFL team is a collective effort and the Senior Coach at all clubs requires the support and expertise of their assistant & development coaches to deliver a quality program to our players. I’m incredibly grateful to all these men for what they do to help me.
“I would also like to thank our players for their efforts – without doubt they make us coaches look better than we are at times.
“Coaching is full of interesting & unique challenges but overall is an immensely rewarding job. I’m thankful to the Brisbane Lions hierarchy for showing faith in an old bloke like me to be their Senior Coach 8 years ago. It’s been a fun ride and I’m very proud of the consistent club we have become.
“To be recognised by my peers in this way is something I didn’t truly expect but it is something I’m very proud of.”
The AFLCA also recognised the Assistant Coach of the Year which was awarded to Western Bulldogs backline coach Daniel Pratt.
North Melbourne’s Jed Adcock and St Kilda’s Corey Enright finished second and third respectively.
The AFLCA Development Coach of the Year award was won by North Melbourne’s Michael Barlow while Essendon’s Dale Tapping won the Career and Education Award.
The 2024 Neale Daniher AFLCA Lifetime Achievement Award was won by John Worsfold.
