A decade of building one of the greatest teams in Australian sport has been celebrated with Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan being awarded the Keys to the City of Brisbane.
The architect of the Lions’ historic premiership three-peat became just the 61st person, team or organisation recognised with Brisbane’s highest honour.
Lord Mayor Adrian Schrinner made the presentation to Fagan during the Lions’ premiership celebration at Riverstage.
When Fagan was appointed in October 2016, Brisbane had won just three games that season and finished second-last on the ladder.
A decade on, the Lions have played in four consecutive Grand Finals and won three consecutive premierships.
Saturday’s seven-point win over the Fremantle Dockers was the club’s sixth flag and its second three-peat, more premierships than any other club has won this century.
Fagan’s decade at the club has been defined by the standards he has set and a culture that has outlasted individual players and seasons.
That approach shows in the faith he places in young talent, with five Lions players named in this year’s AFL under-22 squad and a 19-year-old in Saturday’s premiership side.
Minutes after winning his third premiership, Fagan used his speech to congratulate Fremantle and tell them they probably deserved to win the game.
It is that humility, as much as the record, that has made him one of the most respected figures in Australian sport.
Fagan follows in the footsteps of former Lions coach Leigh Matthews, who received the Keys to the City in 2008 following the club’s first premiership three-peat.
Other recipients include The Bee Gees, Savage Garden, Red Frogs, the SES, Li Cunxin, and the Australian Olympic and Paralympic sporting teams.
“Chris has demonstrated incredible leadership and humility with the way he has gone about turning the Brisbane Lions into a sporting powerhouse,” Mr Schrinner said.
“Brisbane residents can be incredibly proud of not just the Lions’ results but the way their coach has orchestrated such an incredible outcome without much personal fanfare at all.
“A decade ago, Chris took on a football club that had won three games all season and today he’s received the highest honour our city can bestow by becoming the 61st recipient of the Keys to the City of Brisbane.
“Almost 20 years ago this city handed the Keys to Leigh Matthews – today we do it again for a coach whose team has brought this city together like nothing else can.”
