Michael Hagan
Encyclopedia
Michael Hagan is an Australian rugby league football coach and former player. He currently works as assistant coach under Mal Meninga
for the record-breaking Queensland rugby league team
. A Queensland State of Origin representative half, he played his club football in Australia with Canterbury Bankstown (with whom he won the 1988 and 1985 premierships) and Newcastle
(whom he captained), and in England with Halifax
and Huddersfield
. He went on to have a successful coaching career with Newcastle (winning the premiership with them in 2001) and Parramatta
, and was also selected to coach the Queensland Maroons for two State of Origin series. He is currently the Queensland assistant coach.
in 1983. Although best suited to play at five-eighth or halfback, the presence of Terry Lamb
and Steve Mortimer
forced Hagan to play much of his career with Canterbury as a "fill in" at fullback or lock forward. Hagan played a role filling in for Lamb in Canterbury's upset win in the 1985 grand final.
In 1988 Hagan was injured in a car crash but recovered to play in Canterbury's three finals, scoring a try in the grand final. With Mortimer retiring, Hagan might have had a chance for a permanent position in the halves, but by this time he had already decided to move to Newcastle
where he signed with the Knights
.
Hagan's craft and guile at five-eighth led to a rapid rise in the Knights' fortunes: they advanced from fourteenth to sixth (losing a play-off for fifth) in two seasons between 1988 and 1990. He took over Newcastle's captaincy in early 1990 and, despite fluctuating team fortunes and being moved to the less suitable centre position to accommodate the emerging Matthew Johns
in his last season, finished his career with the record of having not missed a match in five season with the Knights.
Hagan also played 92 games for Halifax
in 1984-1985 and 1993-1995. During his career with Newcastle, Hagan played five State of Origin
games for Queensland, deputising for Allan Langer
in 1989.
during the Super League war
in Australia, and subsequently joined the coaching staff with Mal Meninga
at the Canberra Raiders
, coaching the President's Cup team in 1998 and First Division in 1999.
In 2000 Hagan became the first division coach at the Newcastle Knights, and succeeded Warren Ryan
as coach in 2001. He became the first former Knights player to coach the club, and later that season became the first coach since Phil Gould
to win the premiership in his first season.
Hagan coached the Queensland State of Origin team in 2004 and 2005. Although he was unable to win a series, in both seasons the series went to a deciding game, only for the Maroons to lose. During both years, Hagan coached the likes of Slater
, Lockyer
, Thurston
, Thaiday
, Smith
and Bowen, most of whom have since gone on to play for Australia, and most of whom have featured prominently in Queensland's six-year Origin reign. Hagan resigned as Queensland coach in 2005 to concentrate on coaching the Knights given their poor season in which they finished at the foot of the ladder for the first time in the club's history. His successor, Mal Meninga
, has since gone on to win an unprecedented six consecutive State of Origin series for Queensland. In 2010 Hagan returned to the Queensland side as an assistant coach.
In 2005, after losing their first thirteen games of the season, the Knights finished with the wooden spoon. In early 2006, Hagan signed a contract to coach the Parramatta Eels
from 2007 to 2009, finishing his tenure at Newcastle at the end of the 2006 season. He is the longest serving coach in Knights history, and guided the Knights to finals appearances in four of his six seasons, more than any other coach in the team's history.
In 2007 the Eels showed much improvement under Hagan, spending much of the season at 3rd position on the ladder (only behind the salary-cap cheating Melbourne Storm
and bitter rivals the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
) before a surprise defeat against his old club the Newcastle Knights
(who were at the time coached by Brian Smith
) triggered a late-season form slump. The Eels toned up for the finals by handing what was to be the Brisbane Broncos
' worst-ever defeat at the time with a 68-22 mauling (this despite the Eels trailing 22-6 at one stage) in the final round at Parramatta Stadium
. The Eels advanced to the finals finishing in 5th position which meant a tough away trip in the first round to face the 4th-placed New Zealand Warriors
in New Zealand. The Eels managed to upset the Warriors 12-10 despite a late charge from the hosts. This earnt the Eels a home semi final match against long-time rivals the Bulldogs. The Eels also won this match comfortably, earning them a preliminary final showdown with the Melbourne Storm
at Melbourne's Telstra Dome. The Eels were gallant in defeat, losing 24-10, whilst Melbourne ultimately went on to win the Grand Final.
Following a relatively disappointing 2008 season, Michael Hagan ended his head coaching role at the Parramatta Eels citing family reasons and health.
In 2010 he returned to coaching, being appointed the Maroons assistant coach.
, won by the Eels 18-12, Hagan was involved in a post-match altercation with the former Eels halfback. Taylor claimed that Hagan had stuffed up what was on offer at Parramatta, and former Eels coach Brian Smith
had fixed up "what Hagan had f---ed up at Newcastle". Taylor also challenged Hagan to win games without Andrew Johns
(who at the time had already retired). Hagan said: "At least we won without Joey".
. He provides his opinions on current League issues as well as evaluating team form and performances.
Mal Meninga
Malcolm Norman Meninga AM is an Australian former rugby league test captain and current coach of Queensland's State of Origin team. As a player he was a legendary goal-kicking centre, counted amongst the finest footballers of the 20th century...
for the record-breaking Queensland rugby league team
Queensland rugby league team
The Queensland rugby league team have represented the Australian state of Queensland in rugby league football since the sport's beginnings there in 1908...
. A Queensland State of Origin representative half, he played his club football in Australia with Canterbury Bankstown (with whom he won the 1988 and 1985 premierships) and Newcastle
Newcastle Knights
The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership...
(whom he captained), and in England with Halifax
Halifax RLFC
Halifax RLFC is one of the most historic rugby league clubs in the game, formed over a century ago, in 1873 in the Yorkshire town of Halifax. Known as 'Fax', the official club colours are blue and white hoops, blue shorts and blue socks . They share The Shay stadium with football club FC Halifax Town...
and Huddersfield
Huddersfield Giants
Huddersfield Giants are a professional rugby league club from Huddersfield, West Yorkshire who play in the European Super League competition. They play their home games at the Galpharm Stadium which is shared with Huddersfield Town F.C....
. He went on to have a successful coaching career with Newcastle (winning the premiership with them in 2001) and Parramatta
Parramatta Eels
The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League...
, and was also selected to coach the Queensland Maroons for two State of Origin series. He is currently the Queensland assistant coach.
Playing career
The younger brother of former Test centre Bob Hagan, Hagan was graded with CanterburyCanterbury Bulldogs
The Canterbury-Bankstown Bulldogs are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Belmore, a suburb in the Canterbury-Bankstown region of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership, as well as New South Wales Rugby League junior competitions...
in 1983. Although best suited to play at five-eighth or halfback, the presence of Terry Lamb
Terry Lamb
Terry Lamb OAM, is an Australian retired professional rugby league footballer and coach. He played 349 games , with Wests , and Canterbury . Lamb was known for his support of the ball-carrier - his ability to be in the right place at the right time netted him 164 tries. This earned him the moniker...
and Steve Mortimer
Steve Mortimer
Steve Mortimer OAM, , nicknamed Turvey after Turvey Park in Wagga Wagga, New South Wales, where he hailed from, is an Australian former rugby league halfback. Mortimer played a Canterbury-Bankstown club record 272 first grade games between 1976–88. Mortimer's two younger brothers Peter and Chris...
forced Hagan to play much of his career with Canterbury as a "fill in" at fullback or lock forward. Hagan played a role filling in for Lamb in Canterbury's upset win in the 1985 grand final.
In 1988 Hagan was injured in a car crash but recovered to play in Canterbury's three finals, scoring a try in the grand final. With Mortimer retiring, Hagan might have had a chance for a permanent position in the halves, but by this time he had already decided to move to Newcastle
Newcastle upon Tyne
Newcastle upon Tyne is a city and metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, in North East England. Historically a part of Northumberland, it is situated on the north bank of the River Tyne...
where he signed with the Knights
Newcastle Knights
The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership...
.
Hagan's craft and guile at five-eighth led to a rapid rise in the Knights' fortunes: they advanced from fourteenth to sixth (losing a play-off for fifth) in two seasons between 1988 and 1990. He took over Newcastle's captaincy in early 1990 and, despite fluctuating team fortunes and being moved to the less suitable centre position to accommodate the emerging Matthew Johns
Matthew Johns
Matthew Johns is an Australian rugby league football commentator and former professional player...
in his last season, finished his career with the record of having not missed a match in five season with the Knights.
Hagan also played 92 games for Halifax
Halifax RLFC
Halifax RLFC is one of the most historic rugby league clubs in the game, formed over a century ago, in 1873 in the Yorkshire town of Halifax. Known as 'Fax', the official club colours are blue and white hoops, blue shorts and blue socks . They share The Shay stadium with football club FC Halifax Town...
in 1984-1985 and 1993-1995. During his career with Newcastle, Hagan played five State of Origin
Rugby League State of Origin
State of Origin is an annual best of three series of rugby league football matches contested by the Maroons and the Blues, who represent the Australian states of Queensland and New South Wales respectively...
games for Queensland, deputising for Allan Langer
Allan Langer
Allan "Alfie" Langer AM is an Australian former multi-award-winning rugby league footballer of the 1980s, 90s and 2000s who works as an assistant coach for the Australian national team and Brisbane Broncos...
in 1989.
Coaching career
Hagan was the media manager for the Hunter MarinersHunter Mariners
The Hunter Mariners were an Australian rugby league club based in the Hunter Valley region's largest city, Newcastle. Hunter was formed in mid 1995 and was later disbanded at the end of 1997. The club was formed because of the Super League war, which was the rivalry between the traditional...
during the Super League war
Super League war
The Super League war is the common name given to the corporate dispute that was fought in and out of court during the mid-1990s between the Rupert Murdoch and News Corporation-backed Super League and the Kerry Packer and Optus Vision-backed Australian Rugby League organisations over broadcasting...
in Australia, and subsequently joined the coaching staff with Mal Meninga
Mal Meninga
Malcolm Norman Meninga AM is an Australian former rugby league test captain and current coach of Queensland's State of Origin team. As a player he was a legendary goal-kicking centre, counted amongst the finest footballers of the 20th century...
at the Canberra Raiders
Canberra Raiders
The Canberra Raiders are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the national capital city of Canberra, Australian Capital Territory. They have competed in Australasia's elite rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership since 1982...
, coaching the President's Cup team in 1998 and First Division in 1999.
In 2000 Hagan became the first division coach at the Newcastle Knights, and succeeded Warren Ryan
Warren Ryan
Warren Ryan is former rugby league football coach and player from Sydney, Australia. He is considered as one of the most influential coaches in recent times. Ryan also played 1st Grade Rugby League for the St George Dragons and Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks....
as coach in 2001. He became the first former Knights player to coach the club, and later that season became the first coach since Phil Gould
Phil Gould
Phil Gould is an Australian rugby league broadcaster, journalist, administrator and former player and coach. Since the 1990s he has had a prominent role in Channel 9's coverage of rugby league, as a commentator on their match-day coverage, and appears on The Sunday Footy Show and The Sunday Roast...
to win the premiership in his first season.
Hagan coached the Queensland State of Origin team in 2004 and 2005. Although he was unable to win a series, in both seasons the series went to a deciding game, only for the Maroons to lose. During both years, Hagan coached the likes of Slater
Billy Slater
Billy Slater is an Australian professional rugby league footballer for the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League . An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative fullback, he has played his whole NRL career to date at Melbourne...
, Lockyer
Darren Lockyer
Darren Lockyer is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer. He was the captain of the Australian national team, the Queensland State of Origin team and his National Rugby League club, the Brisbane Broncos. His professional career spanned between 1995 and 2011...
, Thurston
Johnathan Thurston
Johnathan Dean Thurston is an Indigenous Australian professional rugby league footballer in the NRL with the North Queensland Cowboys whom he co-captains...
, Thaiday
Sam Thaiday
Samuel H. "Sam" Thaiday is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who captains the Brisbane Broncos of the National Rugby League. An Australian international and Queensland State of Origin representative forward, he has spent all of his career at the Broncos, with whom he won the 2006...
, Smith
Cameron Smith
Cameron Smith is an Australian professional rugby league footballer who currently captains the Melbourne Storm of the National Rugby League...
and Bowen, most of whom have since gone on to play for Australia, and most of whom have featured prominently in Queensland's six-year Origin reign. Hagan resigned as Queensland coach in 2005 to concentrate on coaching the Knights given their poor season in which they finished at the foot of the ladder for the first time in the club's history. His successor, Mal Meninga
Mal Meninga
Malcolm Norman Meninga AM is an Australian former rugby league test captain and current coach of Queensland's State of Origin team. As a player he was a legendary goal-kicking centre, counted amongst the finest footballers of the 20th century...
, has since gone on to win an unprecedented six consecutive State of Origin series for Queensland. In 2010 Hagan returned to the Queensland side as an assistant coach.
In 2005, after losing their first thirteen games of the season, the Knights finished with the wooden spoon. In early 2006, Hagan signed a contract to coach the Parramatta Eels
Parramatta Eels
The Parramatta Eels are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the Sydney suburb of Parramatta. The Parramatta District Rugby League Football Club was formed in 1947, with their First Grade side playing their first season in the New South Wales Rugby Football League...
from 2007 to 2009, finishing his tenure at Newcastle at the end of the 2006 season. He is the longest serving coach in Knights history, and guided the Knights to finals appearances in four of his six seasons, more than any other coach in the team's history.
In 2007 the Eels showed much improvement under Hagan, spending much of the season at 3rd position on the ladder (only behind the salary-cap cheating Melbourne Storm
Melbourne Storm
The Melbourne Storm are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the city of Melbourne. They are the first fully professional rugby league team based in the Australian rules football-dominated state of Victoria....
and bitter rivals the Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles
The Manly-Warringah Sea Eagles are an Australian professional rugby league club based on the Northern Beaches of Sydney. They compete in the National Rugby League's Telstra Premiership, the premier rugby league competition of Australasia...
) before a surprise defeat against his old club the Newcastle Knights
Newcastle Knights
The Newcastle Knights are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in Newcastle, New South Wales. They compete in Australasia's premier rugby league competition, the National Rugby League premiership...
(who were at the time coached by Brian Smith
Brian Smith (rugby league)
Brian Smith is an Australian coach and former player of rugby league football. He is the current head coach at the Sydney Roosters of the NRL. Smith played for St. George and South Sydney Rabbitohs , appearing in a total of 31 first grade games...
) triggered a late-season form slump. The Eels toned up for the finals by handing what was to be the Brisbane Broncos
Brisbane Broncos
The Brisbane Broncos are an Australian professional rugby league football club based in the city of Brisbane, the capital of the state of Queensland. Founded in 1988, the Broncos play in Australasia's elite competition, the National Rugby League premiership. They have won six premierships and two...
' worst-ever defeat at the time with a 68-22 mauling (this despite the Eels trailing 22-6 at one stage) in the final round at Parramatta Stadium
Parramatta Stadium
Parramatta Stadium is a sports stadium situated in Parramatta, New South Wales, Australia.The stadium is used primarily as the home ground of Australian National Rugby League club the Parramatta Eels...
. The Eels advanced to the finals finishing in 5th position which meant a tough away trip in the first round to face the 4th-placed New Zealand Warriors
New Zealand Warriors
The New Zealand Warriors are a professional rugby league football club based in Auckland, New Zealand. They compete in the National Rugby League premiership and are the League's only team from outside Australia...
in New Zealand. The Eels managed to upset the Warriors 12-10 despite a late charge from the hosts. This earnt the Eels a home semi final match against long-time rivals the Bulldogs. The Eels also won this match comfortably, earning them a preliminary final showdown with the Melbourne Storm
Melbourne Storm
The Melbourne Storm are an Australian professional rugby league club based in the city of Melbourne. They are the first fully professional rugby league team based in the Australian rules football-dominated state of Victoria....
at Melbourne's Telstra Dome. The Eels were gallant in defeat, losing 24-10, whilst Melbourne ultimately went on to win the Grand Final.
Following a relatively disappointing 2008 season, Michael Hagan ended his head coaching role at the Parramatta Eels citing family reasons and health.
In 2010 he returned to coaching, being appointed the Maroons assistant coach.
Jason Taylor incident
After a match between Hagan's Eels and former Eels mentor Jason Taylor's RabbitohsSouth Sydney Rabbitohs
The South Sydney Rabbitohs are an Australian professional rugby league football team based in Redfern, a suburb of South-central Sydney, New South Wales. They participate in the National Rugby League premiership and are one of nine existing teams from the state capital...
, won by the Eels 18-12, Hagan was involved in a post-match altercation with the former Eels halfback. Taylor claimed that Hagan had stuffed up what was on offer at Parramatta, and former Eels coach Brian Smith
Brian Smith (rugby league)
Brian Smith is an Australian coach and former player of rugby league football. He is the current head coach at the Sydney Roosters of the NRL. Smith played for St. George and South Sydney Rabbitohs , appearing in a total of 31 first grade games...
had fixed up "what Hagan had f---ed up at Newcastle". Taylor also challenged Hagan to win games without Andrew Johns
Andrew Johns
Andrew Gary "Joey" Johns is an Australian former professional rugby league footballer of the 1990s and 2000s who is considered by many to be the greatest player of all time. He was heralded as the world's best halfback for a number of years...
(who at the time had already retired). Hagan said: "At least we won without Joey".
The Daily Telegraph
Hagan has made journalistic contributions to 'League Central' section of The Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
. He provides his opinions on current League issues as well as evaluating team form and performances.