Revealed: The heartwarming message Leigh Matthews gave Chris Fagan after Brisbane Lions won the AFL Grand Final

It was the picture that will live long in Brisbane Lions’ history, as well as footy folklore.

After seeing his side officially crowned AFL premiers, the first person Lions coach Chris Fagan turned to was Leigh Matthews, the footy great who himself led the same club to four flags.

The pair embraced and tears flowed from both men, in scenes which tugged at the heartstrings of footy fans.

Matthews was on hand to present the premiership cup to Brisbane as the club celebrated their first triumph since 2003, and he revealed to News Corp the first words he said to Fagan when his victorious fate was sealed. 

‘I said to him before the game, ‘You’re a premiership coach and they’ve got to prove whether they’re a premiership team”, he said. 

‘After the game, I said, ‘You’re a premiership coach and you’ve coached a premiership team’. That’s all.’ 

Matthews explained that he doesn’t define a ‘premiership coach’ as only those who have won a flag.

‘You can be a premiership coach without actually winning premiership,’ he said. 

Fagan ended Brisbane’s 21-year wait for the AFL premiership on Saturday

‘I think he’s a premiership coach and it just happened today he became one, but it doesn’t mean he wasn’t before that.’

Fagan and Matthews are close friends, and go for weekly dinners with Lions chief executive Greg Swann and their wives.

‘He coaches the Lions and I’m on the board but we’ve become good friends and I’ve got a lot of admiration for him. So, yeah, I’m so pleased for him,’ he said.

‘It’s an interesting starting point to know he didn’t play AFL, and that he played in Tassie, but he just made his way up, starting with Neale Daniher at Melbourne, then obviously at Hawthorn, then he got his chance at the Brisbane Lions.

‘He’s always been underestimated. It’s partly because of his background.’ 

Reflecting on the final siren hug, Matthews said it was never his intention to be in the spotlight for that special moment.

‘It’s not my moment, it’s his moment, and I just wanted to congratulate him,’ he said.