{"id":908629,"date":"2026-09-28T14:04:18","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T14:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/908629\/"},"modified":"2026-09-28T14:04:18","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T14:04:18","slug":"afl-dane-zorko-backs-fagan-to-stay-as-lions-eye-record-four-peat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/908629\/","title":{"rendered":"AFL: Dane Zorko backs Fagan to stay as Lions eye record four-peat"},"content":{"rendered":"

Brisbane\u2019s triumphant playing group \u201cbelieve\u201d Chris Fagan will guide the Lions\u2019 quest for a fourth successive flag next season despite speculation that the triple premiership-winning mentor might step down after 10 years at the helm.<\/p>\n

Celebrations continue for the Lions after their remarkable seven-point weekend grand final win over Fremantle at the MCG, where Brisbane kicked four unanswered goals in the final four minutes of the contest to break Dockers hearts.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou just don\u2019t win grand finals like that,\u201d Lions veteran Dayne Zorko told SENQ radio on Monday morning.<\/p>\n

\u201cFremantle on the day (was) way better than us. We didn\u2019t play our best footy \u2026 but we hung in there.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe found a way just to stay in touch with them. We had a clinical four minutes and thankfully, it got us the result.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the Lions will now start plotting for a fourth straight AFL premiership, who will coach the club next season remains uncertain despite Fagan having a year of his contract to run.<\/p>\n

The 65-year-old coach is toying with the idea of leaving on the high of three consecutive grand final wins and is yet to decide whether he has the necessary \u201cenergy\u201d to keep going.<\/p>\n

However, the chance to help Brisbane become just the second club in VFL\/AFL history after Collingwood (1927-1930) to win four straight flags will also factor into Fagan\u2019s decision.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lure there,\u201d Fagan told SEN on Monday.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt sounds pretty good. Nobody else has done it in AFL history. It has been done in VFL history in the past by one of the Collingwood teams.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a little bit of that, but even if I decide to go, it\u2019s still there for the team. It\u2019s not just about me, it\u2019s about what the team and the club can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Zorko was understanding of Fagan\u2019s uncertainty but seemed confident the coach would remain with the Lions.<\/p>\n

\u201cI did hear that he wants to finish on top, but also with the team he\u2019s got, he\u2019s got a real opportunity to put ourselves one out in (AFL) history as well, so I know that would be a dangling carrot for him, but I can also see how he doesn\u2019t really want to leave the club not on a high,\u201d the former Brisbane captain said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey\u2019re all big decisions for him to make in due course, but I haven\u2019t had an inkling from him that he would pass the baton down yet.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe all still believe that he will still be our coach next year, but if he isn\u2019t, what an incredible servant for our football club he\u2019s been. <\/p>\n

\u201cI just can\u2019t express the gratitude, and I haven\u2019t got enough words to express how much he\u2019s done for me as a person (and for) our whole organisation.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s just been a rock the whole time. It\u2019s just been phenomenal.\u201d <\/p>\n

Originally published as Lions players back coach Chris Fagan to stay despite retirement speculation after grand final win<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Brisbane\u2019s triumphant playing group \u201cbelieve\u201d Chris Fagan will guide the Lions\u2019 quest for a fourth successive flag next…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":908630,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[476717,382106,476721,476723,365771,476713,443218,476701,476716,476706,476725,398524,380489,476720,381856,398873,376637,376925,638,196244,476697,476722,476711,64,63,55,639,651,3237,278347,112962,3244,320258,13284,10990,88951,476727,476699,476698,393651,476726,476700,10992,476708,3230,47999,380909,476705,1571,476703,110789,476728,13052,13053,43961,33725,155207,476715,476702,425576,419421,476729,413580,94,271054,206998,476710,28389,476712,3203,85,408193,376941,382205,392780,476719,377455,379738,476707,393652,438486,401886,476704,378979,7709,403687,476731,383433,383260,315971,377466,476714,422968,476696,476724,476709,4048,24241,476718,476730,436375],"class_list":["post-908629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-tempting-fagan","tag-s-decision","tag-s-triumphant-playing-group","tag-s-uncertainty","tag-10-years","tag-1927-1930","tag-a-real-opportunity","tag-a-clinical-four-minutes","tag-a-dangling-carrot","tag-a-fourth-straight-afl-premiership","tag-a-fourth-successive-flag","tag-a-high","tag-a-little-bit","tag-a-lure","tag-a-person","tag-a-rock","tag-a-way","tag-a-year","tag-afl","tag-afl-history","tag-all-big-decisions","tag-an-incredible-servant","tag-an-inkling","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-brisbane","tag-brisbane-lions","tag-brisbane-qld","tag-celebrations","tag-chris-fagan","tag-coach-chris-fagan","tag-coaching","tag-collingwood","tag-dayne-zorko","tag-dockers-hearts","tag-due-course","tag-enough-words","tag-fagan","tag-four-straight-flags","tag-four-unanswered-goals","tag-fremantle","tag-going-however","tag-grand-final-win","tag-grand-finals","tag-his-contract","tag-his-toughest-decision","tag-history","tag-just-the-second-club","tag-lions-players","tag-lions-veteran-dayne-zorko","tag-monday","tag-morning","tag-newswire-sport","tag-next-season","tag-next-year","tag-nobody-else","tag-our-best-footy","tag-our-coach","tag-our-football-club","tag-our-whole-organisation","tag-premierships","tag-qld","tag-quest","tag-retirement-speculation","tag-run-the-65-year-old-coach","tag-sen","tag-senq-radio","tag-speculation","tag-sports","tag-the-baton","tag-the-chance","tag-the-club","tag-the-coach","tag-the-collingwood-teams","tag-the-contest","tag-the-day","tag-the-final-four-minutes","tag-the-former-brisbane-captain","tag-the-gratitude","tag-the-helm","tag-the-high","tag-the-idea","tag-the-lions","tag-the-mcg","tag-the-necessary-energy","tag-the-past","tag-the-result","tag-the-team","tag-the-top","tag-the-triple-premiership-winning-mentor","tag-the-whole-time","tag-their-remarkable-seven-point-weekend-grand-final-win","tag-three-consecutive-grand-final-wins","tag-three-straight-afl-premierships","tag-top","tag-touch","tag-vfl-history","tag-vfl-afl-history","tag-zorko"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908629","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=908629"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908629\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/908630"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=908629"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=908629"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=908629"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}