Denis Pagan has opened up on the details of West Coast Eagles premiership coach Adam Simpson’s phone call on the morning of Saturday’s Grand Final.
Pagan coached Simpson when he was playing at North Melbourne, and the dual flag coach at the Kangaroos explained what was said during their chat.
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“Adam Simpson rang me on Saturday morning,” Pagan told SEN Breakfast.
“It was more a parental, fatherly talk. We talked about 98 and how in 1998 we came in at half time and the staff were all excited, clapping and cheering, and I had to give them all a rocket to be quiet, shut up.
“We just spoke about that, how firm has he been with the boys and how he has changed from last year and those sort of things.
“It only went for four or five minutes and I wished him all the best.
“It probably calmed me more than it calmed Adam.
“It was a special little interlude and I went to the football with a nice warm glow, thinking how good was it to be involved coaching an AFL team and coaching those boys in the 90s.
“It’s a special feeling.”
Pagan presented Simpson with the Jock McHale Medal after the Eagles’ victory.
Listen to Denis Pagan’s chat with Garry Lyon and Tim Watson on SEN Breakfast in the player below