Just remember guys (and girls); Michael Hagan came in at a time when Brian Smith had just about brought Parramatta to its knees, in terms of team morale. He over-coached, over-disciplined, treated players like school-kids. Hagan came in and did ther only thing he could do: he adopted almost the opposite approach. He treated the players with respect, treated them like adults. Put the ball in their court. I think the players gradually took advantage of this and, after a reasonably successful first year, they completely lost the plot in the second year. I`m not saying Hagan is the best coach in the world; but he has won a premiership. "With Andrew Johns", I hear you say; but Bennett won with Lockyer, Langer, Walters, etc, etc, etc,. And Melbourne have won with a sh*tload of stars. Every team that wins a grand final has a sh*tload of stars. Hagan had a young Andrew Johns, Matthew Johns and Robbie O`Davis. I think that`s comparable with other G.F. winning teams.
I get a bit sick of people treating Hagan like some second class moron, and ridiculing him all the time. And when you mention that he 'quit'. Come on; you can`t seriously believe that he wasn`t backed into a corner and told to quit, can you? Anderson was just off contract. Parramatta wanted him. They told Hagan to quit. I don`t think he is a quitter. I admire him.
