AFL great forced to apologise to premiership-winning coach after embarrassing insult live on air
The former AFL star labelled Fagan 'old' in a light-hearted discussion about potential coaching candidates for Tasmania 's new AFL team.
Fagan, 63, led the Lions to a long-awaited premiership in 2024 and has taken the club to back-to-back grand finals.
His name was floated as part of a coaching wishlist alongside Nathan Buckley, Chris Scott, Ken Hinkley, John Longmire and Adam Simpson.
During post-match analysis, Thomas questioned what role Fagan might play if he joined Tasmania's AFL project.
'Would that be a coach or more of a mentoring overview from Chris Fagan who, with no disrespect, is getting old,' Thomas said.
The remark drew a laugh from co-host Matthew Richardson, a proud Tasmanian and former Richmond great.
But moments later, Richardson's phone lit up with a message from none other than Fagan himself.
Realising the situation, Thomas quickly addressed the audience. 'I did just reference that maybe Chris Fagan - I did say 'with no disrespect' - was old,' he said.
'I just saw Richo's phone go ping, and the name that popped up was Chris Fagan. Do I need to order an official apology?'
Richardson grinned and urged him to do just that. 'He's not old, Fages,' he said.
Thomas responded with a red-faced retraction. 'Look ... I probably didn't ... Chris, I'm tremendously sorry,' he said.
'I love everything you're doing and if you do want to come to Tassie, I'll be there with you. I think you'd be a perfect candidate.'
Richardson chimed in again. 'Oh, you want a job down there as well?' he joked.
The moment came amid renewed focus on Tasmania's bid to enter the AFL, with Tasmania Devils CEO Brendon Gale addressing the state's hopes at a Melbourne breakfast.
Gale stressed that if a stadium at Macquarie Point wasn't approved, the entire bid could collapse.
'It's that black and white,' Gale said.
Richardson added: 'If this doesn't get up, it'll be Tasmania's biggest mistake in 20–30 years.'
Meanwhile, Chris Fagan's credentials speak for themselves. Born in Queenstown, Tasmania, he played more than 260 senior games before moving into AFL coaching.
He spent almost a decade as an assistant coach at Melbourne and then Hawthorn, playing a key role in the Hawks' premiership dynasty. In 2017, he took over as senior coach of Brisbane.
After transforming the struggling Lions into title contenders, Fagan capped his efforts with a grand final win in 2024.
He became the oldest coach to win an AFL premiership - and the first to do so without playing at the elite level.
Thomas, affectionately known as 'Daisy', enjoyed a decorated career at Collingwood and Carlton, winning a flag with the Magpies in 2010 before retiring in 2019.
He has since made a name for himself in media, hosting TV shows, appearing on reality programs, and staying involved in community footy.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
28 minutes ago
- The Guardian
How do you bounce back from defeat in a first Lions Test? In 2009, our response was brutal
It is worth comparing and contrasting two separate events over the past week to really get a sense of the challenge that faces the Wallabies on Saturday. Shortly before half-time in the first Test in Brisbane, Tom Curry tackled Tom Lynagh in the air. None of Australia's players went after him. The Lions No 7 had just cut Lynagh – a young fly-half making his first Test start – in half and the Wallabies left him alone. Three days later Darcy Graham is on the receiving end of a high shot in the first few minutes. Owen Farrell piles straight in, sending a crystal clear message: 'We're not standing for it.' It's part of the reason anyone who has played with him cannot speak highly enough of him. Put simply, the Wallabies need to get in the Lions' faces if they are going to level the series. They were too passive in Brisbane and they need to set that right at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. I see similarities between where the Wallabies are now and where the Lions were in 2009. We didn't show up in the first Test in Durban and we got monstered in the scrum. I remember John Smit scored a try after five minutes in what was South Africa's first entry into our 22. I'll never forget the debrief we had on a Monday. The defence coach, Shaun Edwards, played us the clips of that try, it was carry after carry and every Springbok got over the gainline before Smit ran through two defenders. Edwards told us it was one of the worst opening defensive sets he had ever seen in international rugby. So we had to show up in the second Test, which has gone down in history for its brutality. We had Simon Shaw come into the team, an enormous second-row who was named man of the match despite featuring for the losing side. The Wallabies will be hoping Will Skelton can have a similar impact. When you're 1-0 down you are hyper-focused because the series comes down to the 80 minutes on Saturday. You want to keep the gameplan simple but there are things you can demand and expect. Emotionally you have to be in the right place, physically in the right place and work rate has to be through the roof. You've got to fight for everything, you've got to be desperate, but desperation can't lead to ill-discipline or trying too hard and where you end up doing other people's jobs. Because we know what the fallout will be if they don't get it right. Australia were poor last week but when the Lions are doing their preparation they will be preparing for the best version of the Wallabies. You don't prepare for last week's version because if you do you'll find yourself with egg on your face. I fully expect that Australia will show up this weekend and I've spent a bit of time this week hoping that they will. That's alien to me in the context of a Lions tour, I don't ever remember feeling or hoping that the Kiwis or South Africans will turn up. Why has it taken this sort of poverty of performance to invigorate this Wallabies side for a series that happens once every 12 years? Do you have to play so poorly to realise that you have to show up? Sometimes sport can be really simple when you are out of options and the Wallabies are at that stage, they have to show up. They have to be so much better. Yes, there were some green shoots but I didn't feel that the result last week was ever in question. To concede as early as they did, it was soft, and the hope must be they don't concede soft tries again, I really hope we get a competitive match. And I'm confident we will. Rob Valetini will bring significant physicality, so will Skelton. With what's on the line you hope it's just a lot better. This is the first time as a fan with the Lions that I've wanted to see major improvements but it's a demonstration of where the Wallabies are. They are the sixth best team in the world and almost by default, because other teams around them have lost. We're not in rugby union territory in Melbourne, I was at the AFL the other night and there were 65,000 there for a club match. The MCG should be sold out for a Lions game that happens once every 12 years and it's not. Sign up to The Breakdown The latest rugby union news and analysis, plus all the week's action reviewed after newsletter promotion But while I have a sense of sympathy, the Lions won't. They'll be thrilled to be in the position they are but they'll be frustrated with themselves because they didn't play to their levels in the second half. They need to show more of a ruthless edge because it's going to be massively physical, energetic, emotional – they've got to weather that storm and then get into gear and stay in gear. If they do that I'm confident they can wrap up the series.
Daily Mail
an hour ago
- Daily Mail
The Lions are 13/2 to score in the first 10 minutes of each half against Australia - and that's just one of many RequestABets
The Britsh & Irish Lions are aiming to wrap up their series against Australia on Saturday morning with a test to spare. Andy Farrell's men were dominant in the first Test as they stormed to a 27-19 win in Brisbane - a scoreline which did not reflect the gulf in class and physicality. The Lions don't expect an easy match, though, and they have not been helped by the withdrawal of Welshman Garry Ringrose. Sky Bet are offering a broad range of RequestABets for the clash, with a handful listed below. For the Lions to score at least one try in each half, you'll find a price of 4/11. For both teams to score at least two tries and for the Lions to win, Sky Bet are giving odds of 5/4. If you fancy Farrell's side to score a try in the first 10 minutes of each half, there's an offering of 13/2. And at 200/1, the most unlikely of all, Sky Bet have listed the outcome of at least six tries for each team. Sky Bet selected RequestABets for Australia vs the British & Irish Lions: Lions to score at least one try in each half - 4/1 Both teams to score at least two tries and for the Lions to win - 5/4 Lions to score a try in the first 10 minutes of each half - 13/2 Both teams to score at least six tries each - 200/1
South Wales Guardian
3 hours ago
- South Wales Guardian
How Joe Root compares to greats after moving second on list of Test run-scorers
Here, the PA news agency looks at how he compares to the greats of the game. One more rung to climb… 🪜 — England Cricket (@englandcricket) July 25, 2025 – Root climbed from fifth at the start of the Old Trafford Test to second as his score of 150 took him past India great Rahul Dravid, former South Africa all-rounder Jacques Kallis and ex-Australia captain Ricky Ponting – who hailed Root as 'magnificent' while commentating for Sky Sports. – Sachin Tendulkar's 15,921 runs remains the all-time Test record, with Root now 2,512 behind on 13,409. – Sir Alastair Cook, whose England record of 12,472 Root passed last year, ranks sixth on the list. – The top 10 is completed by Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara, West Indies pair Brian Lara and Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Sangakkara's long-time team-mate Mahela Jayawardene. – Fifteen men in all have passed 10,000 runs in Test cricket, with Australian trio Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Steve Smith, India's Sunil Gavaskar and Pakistan's Younis Khan, with 10,099, rounding out that group. New Zealand's Kane Williamson, on 9,276, is the nearest active player outside that mark. – Root has 13,409 Test runs at an average of 51.18, in 157 matches and 286 innings. – He made his Test debut in 2012, scoring 73 against India in his first innings. – The first of his England-record 38 centuries came the following year against New Zealand. His 66 half-centuries are also the most for his country. – Root's most prolific year brought him 1,708 Test runs in 2021 at an average of 61 – though his best average for a single year is 97.13 in 2014, helped by unbeaten scores of 200 against Sri Lanka and 154 and 149 against India. – He has more runs against India than any other nation, 3,249 in 34 Tests, with Friday's effort his 12th ton against them. He has over 1,000 runs against every opponent bar Bangladesh and Ireland, against whom he has played just two Tests each, and Zimbabwe (one). – Over 8,000 of Root's runs have been made in his customary number four position, where he averages 52.11. His best average by position is 61.05 at number five while his career-best score of 262 was made at number three, against Pakistan last year. – Earlier in the series against India, he also set a world record with his 211th Test catch, passing Dravid at the top of that list.
