12 months ago, Brisbane Lions coach Chris Fagan took a leave of absence from his club, with fears the 62-year-old leader may not return to work.
On Saturday, he will coach his Lions in a grand final against Collingwood.
The turnaround, which saw the Lions overcome Carlton by 16 points to qualify for the Lions' first grand final since 2004, has been lauded by AFL legend Leigh Matthews.
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Matthews, who was Brisbane's last premiership coach (2001, 2002, 2003), applauded Fagan's comeback after "no adverse findings" were made amidst Hawthorn racism allegations.
"He successfully put his life into compartments and I'd be pretty confident that it hasn't affected his coaching," Matthews said on Nine's Footy Classified on Wednesday night.
"But it certainly would have been a load on his shoulders. That's been a weight on his shoulder, I've got no doubt about that."
Matthews, who is still involved with the Lions as a director, lauded Fagan's leadership and ability to take his side to his maiden grand final.
"Everyone knows Chris Fagan. The Chris Fagan we know, this is not the Chris Fagan we know (at the time of the allegations). That goes for the players and staff, anyone that's had anything to do with him, really," Matthews said.
"He's hard not to be liked, he's a very likeable person. He's got the club humming."
Fagan took a leave of absence in September last year, stepping away from the Lions after he was named in an ABC report alleging serious mistreatment of several Aboriginal players while contracted to the Hawks.
Matthews broke down why Fagan stepped away from Brisbane and how it helped the club in the long run.
"The stand down was a limbo position. Who knows what's going on here? So best way to handle it was for Chris to … fall on his sword for a month or so," Matthews said.
"Then clearly by that stage it was a bit ridiculous, just these allegations, that's all they are, so get back to work. That's what eventually happened."
https://twitter.com/brisbanelions/status/1706152661517770872
It comes as Lions livewire Cam Rayner, who will play in his first grand final on Saturday, also praised his coach.
"I take my hat off to Fages, he did the best thing by the group (stepping down). He left most of that stuff (to) himself and let us work our way through it as a team," he said.
"Every time he came into the club, he was always positive and always spoke to us. He was really open with us. A lot of boy appreciated that.
"We're very lucky to have him and now that all that's cleared up, he's been able to come back in and continue to share his knowledge."
Rayner is looking ahead to Saturday, explaining that he and his Lions teammates will be playing for Fagan.
"We love playing for him. It's been such a great year this year and I think it would be quite a relief for him to get a grand final back as well," he said.
Brisbane face Collingwood in the 2023 grand final on Saturday at the MCG from 2.30pm (AEST).
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