“It is bizarre to me”: Russell reacts to 2024 Coach of the Year award

Dwayne Russell thinks that Hawthorn’s Sam Mitchell was snubbed in AFLCA Coach of the Year voting after Brisbane’s Chris Fagan was crowned the 2024 winner on Tuesday night.

Fagan received 272 votes to beat fellow Grand Final coach John Longmire with 209, while Mitchell finished third with 161.

While Fagan helped resurrect Brisbane’s season after they started the home and away campaign 2-5, Russell thinks that all he’s done is meet this year’s expectations by again reaching the Grand Final with what he considers the best list in the AFL.

As the Coach of the Year is voted on by all 18 senior coaches, Russell pondered whether Mitchell was unpopular with his peers after finishing third despite leading Hawthorn from third-last in 2023 to sixth in 2024.

“Do the other coaches not like Sam Mitchell? Did Sam Mitchell just find out who his friends are?” Russell asked on SEN Afternoons.

“For Chris Fagan to be Coach of the Year is bizarre to me, to be voted by the coaches as the best this year.

“I mean, Chris Fagan has the best list I reckon in the comp. I picked them to win the flag this pre-season.

“They should have made this year's Grand Final. All he’s done is break even with last year.”

Looking further at the records of both Fagan and Mitchell in 2024, Russell noted that while the Hawks coach drastically improved in 2023, the Lions coach has technically fallen back from the last campaign to this point.

“In fact, when you look at the home and away season this year, the Lions won 14 games this year in the home and away season, Hawthorn also won 14 games this year,” Russell said.

“Except last year, the Lions won 17 games, that’s three games more than this year.

“Hawthorn won seven games last year and won 14 this year. Surely Sam Mitchell is the Coach of the Year. He's coached them up from 16th to be in the top six.

“How didn’t Sam Mitchell get voted Coach of the Year? I’ve got no idea.

“He was third last in 2023 to 14 wins in the home and away this year and he wasn't even in the top two.

“So maybe he just found out who his friends are.”