Fagan Picks the Navy Blue — And About Time Someone Did

So the premiership coach has finally put pen to paper and told the footy world why he’s lobbed at Ikon Park instead of taking his talents elsewhere, and fair dinkum, it’s the most sensible thing I’ve heard out of head office in years. Not some flash consultant’s report, not a spreadsheet full of key performance indicators — just a bloke saying he reckoned he could get on with the fella running the show and work with him.

A Reason Even an Old Fogey Can Understand

Back in my day — and yes, I know, here we go again — you picked your club, or more often your club picked you, and that was that. There wasn’t a merry-go-round of list managers doing laps of every boardroom in the competition comparing contract clauses like they were buying a Hyundai. So when Fagan comes out and says part of the decision was simply that he could work with the fella in charge, I nearly spat out me cuppa in relief. Finally, a reason that doesn’t need a data analyst to explain it.

I’ve sat through enough of these announcements over the years where some big name arrives at Carlton with a folder full of buzzwords about