"Sucks a lot of energy": When will Fagan make call on his future?

Chris Fagan insists he has not yet made up his mind on his future as Brisbane Lions coach.

The 65-year-old is contracted for 2027 but there has been chatter swirling that he may finish up if the Lions completed the three-peat.

Fresh after masterminding a third straight premiership, Fagan made it clear that he has not yet made a choice on what’s next, despite speaking of the relentless nature of the role.

“I haven't made up my mind. People think I have, but I haven’t,” Fagan said on Fireball.

“I just need a little bit of time to think about whether I want to keep going. I've been doing it for 10 years. It's like there's a relentless responsibility and pressure that exists around senior coaching. And that's fair enough, it’s a high-profile job and we're well paid and I get all that.

“But it does mentally and physically drain you. I'm lucky, my team's been playing finals for eight years and we've been fortunate enough to win three premierships. But it still sucks a lot of energy out of you and I think if you want to keep doing the job you've got to be able to continue to deliver that energy.

“I’ve always believed that the head coach of a footy club is, I call him the CEO - the Chief Energy Officer. If you don't have it then your players invariably don't either and I just sort of want to make sure that if I do go on then I'm going to be able to deliver in the manner that I want to.”

Specifically speaking about the Grand Final, Fagan was in awe of how his playing group was once again able to turn things around.

The Lions kicked the final four goals to storm over the top of the Dockers at the MCG which Fagan feels was symbolic of the way they played in 2026.

“The game itself was like a microcosm of our year,” he added.

“It seems like with our team we have to get ourselves into a bit of trouble to find our best form. We were 6-6 after 12 games and were struggling a little bit, and the season's looking like it's in jeopardy, then we find a way.

“Then we get walloped by Carlton and then we bounce back, then lose the first final, and we bounce back. In the game itself, Fremantle were going to win that game. There's no time left and suddenly we find four goals from nowhere.

“So it's been typical of the team this year. It shows a lot of resilience and character. It's not too good for the ticker sometimes, but that was a brilliant effort on the weekend.

“That last four minutes, I watched it again last night and I couldn't believe it really.”

David King asked Fagan: “When the game finished, when the siren went, who was the one player you wanted to get to first to either congratulate or share a special moment with?”

It was the gun midfielder Will Ashcroft who Fagan thought of first.

“It’s probably pretty hard, but I was pretty impressed with Will Ashcroft and what he did in the last five minutes. The whole game really, but that last five minutes was something to behold,” Fagan said.

“He picked us up on his shoulders and got the ball going forward. I mean we couldn't really win centre bounce and clearance all day and then in the last five minutes we won several and we kicked four goals, and he had a lot to do with that.

“I heard you talk about Sam Draper this morning too and I agree with your comments there. His ruck worked despite the fact that Jackson sort of won the day in that battle. in the last five minutes, Drapes got going.

“But Will Ashcroft has been tremendous, particularly the second half of the year, and that five minutes I'll never forget.”

Listen to the full chat with Fagan below: