Michael Hagan Player Newcastle 1989 - 93,  111 games. Captain of Knights from 1990 to 1993. Scoring 16 tries, 3 field goals, total 76 points. 5 State of Origin games for Qld. Coach Canberra Reserve 1998 - 1999  Coached Newcastle Knights First Division 2000 Newcastle Knights First Grade 2001  Knights Premiers 2001 Parramatta 2007 -

Assistant coach to Wayne Bennett State of Origin series in 2003. 
Appointed Queensland State of Origin Coach for 2004.
Current Qld State of Origin Coach

A Brisbane junior, the younger brother of 1962 test centre Bob Hagan, shifted to Canterbury Bankstown as a teenager and was graded with C'bury in 1983.  Hagan played 73 games with Canterbury Bulldogs, honing his skills as a busy organiser around the rucks, often filling in at fullback or lock. 
Hagan joined the Knights in 1989.  Hagan played for 5 seasons with the Knights playing 111 first grade games.  Taking over the captaincy from Sam Stewart the following season.  By mid season Hagan played half and Tony Kemp played five eighth, a combination that served Newcastle well.  Michael Hagan played all 22 matches and a state of origin match in season 1991.  Hagan was in a similar position to Matthew Johns at the end of his playing career with the Knights - the difference being that his situation was caused by the emergence of Johns in 1993.  Hagan left Australian football and played two seasons with Halifax.
In his five years as a Knights players, Hagan never missed a game through injury and played all of his 111 games for the club in first grade.  As a players, Hagan was coached by all four former Knights mentors.  Allan McMahon and David Waite at Newcastle,  Malcolm Reilly at Halifax and Warren Ryan at Canturbury.
Michael Hagan takes over as only the fifth coach in the club's history. Hagan was a fine player playing in three grand finals at Canterbury in three different positions before joining Newcastle in 1989.  Hagan who played in five origins in 1989-90 coached in lower grades at Hunter Mariners and Canberra before linking with Ryan at the start of this season. 
Hagan skippered the Knights from 1990 to 1993, will become the first coach to emerge from the club's playing ranks to take over the coaching role.  In announcing the appointment today, Ian Bonnette said Hagan had impressed everyone he had come in contact with during his one-year tenure as First Division Coach. "Obviously there were a number of high quality candidates for this position. Michael has earned himself the position through his thorough professionalism. His popularity among senior players was also a key factor in his favour."
Hagan will now succeed Warren Ryan, who was a coach of Hagans at Canterbury.  Hagan joined the Newcastle Knights football club in 1989.  Warren Ryan has endorsed him for the Job.  Even when he moved to England in 1994, his coach at Halifax was Malcolm Reilly. Hagan said. "I really enjoy the game and I certainly like the people in the game. That's probably why I chose to get involved in coaching."
 

Mark Sargent stated, "Even in the early days of us playing together at Canterbury, Hages was always interested in the mechanics and tactics of it all."

When things turned ugly betwen Ryan and his players last season, it was Hagan the hierachy turned to.  A delegation of senior players went to the Knights CEO demanding something be done.  Hagaon came in as the peacemaker between players and coach.  Ryan was still at the helm but it was Hagan who was doing most of the hands on work.  The new arrangement won favour with the players and saved the club from making an embarassing decision in relation to Ryan.  His first grade appointment was virtually assured from that point on.

Hagan says that this years (2001) new 4 - 12 replacement rule will make the game quicker and he is expecting it to be alot more taxing on the coaches.  Injuries will determine how long a player is out there for. 

HAGAN IS GIVING HIS CAREER A KICK ALONG  31 Jan 1990,  Sydney Morning Herald
A club shortage and personal ambition have prompted Newcastle utility back Michael Hagan to attempt to add goal-kicking to his range of skills. Hagan, who has no experience at any level as a kicker, has been practising intermittently since November. The results have been reasonably encouraging. The Knights' regular kicker, prop Peter Johnston, had an operation on his shoulder recently and is in doubt for the opening rounds of the Winfield Cup. In the off-season, the club bought two players with goal-kicking prowess -Queensland country 18-year-old, Adrian Bruunker and New Zealand three-quarter, Marty Crequer - but neither is a certainty for first-grade. Winger Jeff Doyle is also a competent goal kicker. Newcastle chief executive, Brian Judd, said: "We were lean on goal-kickers last year but have bulked up considerably. "However, with a question mark over Peter Johnston, Michael might be handy as a stand-by. And he's at a stage in his career when adding another string to his bow might be beneficial." 
Judd was alluding to this year's Kangaroo tour, for which Hagan hopes to gain selection as the second pivot behind likely captain, Wally Lewis. Hagan, along with the club's other kickers, is receiving specialist instruction from Brian Warby, a former first-grader in the Newcastle competition with a reputation for goal-kicking excellence. Asked about his progress, Hagan said: "I've put a few over, but it's one thing to be hitting them sweetly at training and another to be kicking them in front of 25,000 at Newcastle Sports Centre." 
Hagan was concerned that, as a result of a kicking practice, he had suffered thigh strains which prevented him from stretching out at training. He said mediocre goal-kicking had been costly for Newcastle in several matches last year. "Maybe a couple of times we chose to kick for the line whereas if we'd had a little more confidence in our kicker we'd have gone for goal," he said. "If you have a skilled kicker, you can find yourself leading six-nil without having crossed the line, or done anything outstanding in attack." 
Hagan is not exaggerating its importance, but feels an ability to kick goals might improve his chances of selection for the Kangaroo touring party. He cites as his main opposition Souths' Phil Blake, Cronulla's Michael Speechley and Canterbury's Terry Lamb, should he make himself available; but who knows whose aspirations will be shattered in the meantime by injury, or what new candidates will emerge from obscurity? 
Hagan, although just 25, believes that realistically this will be his last opportunity to make the tour. He figures that if, by now, his talents have not been recognised, and judged worthy of exhibition in an international setting, then it is unlikely he will be in contention four years on. "On the other hand, I feel I'm still improving - as is Newcastle," Hagan said. Both Hagan and Judd concede that while the Knights' defence last year was commendable (they conceded fewer points than premiers Canberra), their attack left something to be desired, based as it was on tough, rampaging forwards and minimal ball movement. Consequently, the off-season program set down by coach Allan McMahon has been heavy on sprint training and drills promoting evasive skills. Hagan said: "It's fair to say our game's been built on strong forward play, and that unless we play better attacking football we'll again fail to make the final five." Hagan said a major concern within the club was the loss of depth resulting from the release of players due to the salary cap. "It's all right at the moment, but if injuries happen .. ." 

HAGAN SHOWS NO SCARS OF A TROUBLED KNIGHT  - 11 Mar 1993, Sydney Morning Herald
Let's start with a story from Newcastle's final game last season, the semi-final when they were beaten 3-2 by St George. Fully spent, battered and depressed, the players slumped in the Sydney Football Stadium dressing room afterwards, overcome with a strange emotional emptiness after the psychic overload of the previous two hours. Captain Michael Hagan, delayed by media interviews as he left the ground, was last into the room but as the door closed behind him a strange thing happened: spontaneous applause broke out from the players. Some two weeks later Matthew Rodwell, the Knights' talented young halfback, was asked why the players did this. "Oh, he's done so much for us," he said. "We owe him so much." 
This year Hagan is starting his 10th season of first-grade football. He began with Canterbury as the teenager who filled in when Steve Mortimer and Terry Lamb were injured, played in three grand finals with the Bulldogs, winning two, has played State of Origin for Queensland, has spent a season in England and is still only 28. This will be his fifth year with Newcastle and it promises to be the club's most successful. It also promises to be Hagan's biggest test since coming to the club. It's no secret that coach David Waite has the sort of problem that coaches love to have - he's got four players capable of playing first grade, and only two, or perhaps three, places to put them. Before the season started there was speculation - albeit of the pub-talk kind - that Hagan, despite his crucial role in club affairs over the past four years, would be one of those on the outer. Well, like the old song says, you don't know what you've got till its gone. Hagan, who hasn't missed a single game in his time with Newcastle, has spent a few periods on the interchange bench this year as Waite has tried out different combinations in the Knights' three pre-season games. His critics - and, to be fair, there are precious few - could not have failed to notice his immense on-field value, even if it became apparent only through the deleterious effect of his absence. Not that Waite ever indicated that Hagan's position was in doubt. After all, no-one is more aware than Waite that Hagan's value transcends his immense footballing skills. While Hagan might be a role model for the club's younger players, his extra training is designed to ensure the youngsters adopt his behaviour patterns and not his playing position. "If you stand still from a personal point of view you're overtaken by younger guys who are trying to play first grade," he says. Like all true competitors, he relishes the challenge. Another story from last season shows why they might have to lurk a fair while longer. It was late June and Newcastle were playing Souths on a Sunday. It was a vital game for the Knights, one they had to win to stay in the semi-final race. On the Saturday night, Hagan received word that his father had died in Brisbane, and throughout the next morning he agonised over whether or not to play. "At about half past one on the day I didn't think I was going to be able to do it," Hagan recalls. "All the thoughts about dad came to the fore. It was a very difficult hour or so." He ended up playing in the wind and rain, blocking things out for the duration of a forgettable struggle and leading his team to a 16-12 victory. Later, in the dressing room, he broke down in tears. Mark Sargent, Newcastle's tough international prop, called it the bravest thing he had ever seen. Hagan says that his decision came down to this: "It was an important game for the club and to pull out so late in the day would have disrupted the operations. I know the blokes and David would have accepted it, but under difficult conditions it would have made things even more difficult at that time." Which brings us back to where we started ... the reason for that spontaneous applause last season. 

RUGBY LEAGUE COACHING MANUALS  - http://www.rlcm.com.au
TODAYS coaching extract is with Newcastle Knights coach Michael Hagan the full interview featured in Book 22 [2001] In this RLCM Coaching Extract Keith Hookway and Michael were talking were talking about defensive patterns. ".........have a couple of different scenarios depending on who you're playing against and the situation in the game, that determines how you defend your line. So there are a few different variables. 
"You can't be a one-dimensional defensive team any more, you've got to have a bit of versatility in the way you defend different situations. We're working pretty hard on that at the moment, where we're not necessarily up and in or slide, but a bit of a balance between the two. With a defensive pattern it's an understanding of why you're doing it and how you solve certain questions that the opposition put to you. You need to have some smart players on the edge of the ruck that understand it before you can be really confident in how you do it. In all the patterns you've still got to be able to defend over the football. That is a skill in itself, to be able to do it relentlessly for 80 minutes. If you've got across your board a desire to defend well then that is half the battle. The hardest thing is defending when you're tired, and controlling the football still has an enormous effect on how you defend over the 80 minutes. If you turn the ball over on play two often, then you know you're going to be in for a pretty tough day..............." 

Part of an interview taken in pre season 2001
Q. How are you enjoying the new job at Marathon?
A. Yeah, good.  we haven't lost a game yet.

Q. How does it differ from you playing days with the club?
A. As coach, you have to be responsible for the players and support staff and understand whats happening down the trackes from a marketing point of view.  Clbus are so dependant on sponsors now and there are a whole cross section of ideans coaches have to be mindful of.

Q. Like any rookie, are you expecting to make mistabkes in your debut seasons?
A. I've probably had the benefit of making most of my mistables while coancing in the lower grandes.  You can't afford to make mistakes these days but I know I will make a couple through tthe year.  Its the only way anyone can learn and improve.

Season 2001
Michael Hagan says he has been more nervous in the past couple of days while waiting to make his first-grade debut as a coach than he ever was as a player. But it's nervous excitement rather than nerves created by doubt. "I'm really looking forward to it," he said. "The feeling is different from what I remember as a player and I think it's because of the knowledge that I can't actually go out there myself and help. I'm a bit edgy, but I think everyone is at the start of a season." 
A former five-eighth with Canterbury, Newcastle and Queensland, Hagan deserved his place in the spotlight after successful lower-grade stints with Canberra and the Knights.  He probably also deserved to inherit a strong side and make his reputation over several seasons. Instead, he has a new-look combination and his reputation has to be made now.  Gone are five-eighth Matthew Johns, winger Lenny Beckett and key forwards Tony Butterfield, Peter Shiels, Paul Rauhihi and David Fairleigh. Hagan wants it known that if there is anyone to blame for the choices made at the end of last season about who was to stay and who was to go, it's him.  "I knew that, when I accepted the job, that they would have to cut a million dollars out of the salary cap," 
"If you look at the impending fine that was being levied for the fact they were four- or five-hundred thousand over the cap last year, the realities are that you could not possibly give Matthew four-hundred [thousand] for this year and Dave Fairleigh the same."
Hagan spent the end of last year balancing financial reality with his own ambition for the club, playing fantasy footy minus the fantasy. He's come up with a group of youngsters he believes will plug the holes - and more.  "It's what Brian Smith has done," he said. "He's probably taken younger people and added value to them. I still think we're in terrific shape from a club point of view because we've got some terrific young talent - Josh Perry, Justin Ryder, Sean Rudder, Stteve Simpson - coming through the system."
And like some of his players, he has to do the work several men shared in more prosperous times. Ninety minutes before making his debut in front of the prying lense, he was down on the field at Marathon with one of the Knights' junior representative teams, talking tactics with a player after a curtain-raiser.
"Warren [Ryan] and Mal [Reilly] really weren't that interested in the next tier and who was coming through the system," he said.  "They just wanted 20 good footballers to coach every week. That was their MO. I'm going to be judged on that, but I'm also hopefully going to be judged on the recruitment and development of some of the young blokes." 

Preview 
It looks like the Knights will start season 2001 with a new look,  no original players will be playing with the retirement of Butts.   A new coach has been appointed,  Matty, Fairleigh, Shiels and Butterfield will be gone.   Supporters and sponsors maybe less. However there appears to be a wealth of talent coming through the lower grades which have been show cased this seasons due to the heavy injury list of the knights.  Almost every player has been called on from the lower grades and have performed to NRL level. Newcastle coach Michael Hagan has nominated a quartet of players (Daniel Abraham, Josh Perry, Clint Newton and Russell Richards) he expects to lead the new breed at the club after they lost a lot of first-graders at the end of last season. Fullback Abraham and prop Perry each played some first grade last season, while back-rowers Newton and Richards are yet to make their debuts.  They have not signed any players with first-grade experience, but Hagan said they were talking to a few. Hagan said Abraham could develop into a centre or back-rower, and hopes regular fullback Robbie O'Davis will have recovered from a persistent foot injury. The Knights, forced to shed players to get under the $3.25 million salary cap, lost five-eighth Matthew Johns, second-rower Peter Shiels and prop David Fairleigh to English clubs, prop Paul Rauhihi to the Bulldogs and winger Lenny Beckett to Northern Eagles.  Prop Tony Butterfield retired.  Newcastle foundation player Paul Marquet is playing for the Knights again in season 2001,  after being unwanted by Melbourne. Marquet who is a Newcastle junior helps to offset the retirement of skipper Tony Butterfield and departing forwards David Fairleigh, Peter Shiels and Paul Rauhihi.  With the new interchange rules for season 2001, allowing just 12 replacements for the game would suit Marquet. 
"The way it is going to be next year with a limit of 12 interchanges, Paul will be quite valuable because he is able to stay on the field for 70 minutes, make 40 tackles and still be going strong." - Micheal Hill. 
Any side with Andrew Johns in it is always going to be a contender but a severe lack of forward depth could hurt the Knights in the pressure games next year. Newcastle has not signed a single player of note for next season as the club goes through a rebuilding stage for next season. The Newcastle/Hunter region is one of the best breeding grounds for Rugby League footballers and new stars will begin emerge soon. 

Pre Season 2001 
October 30 2000 - The Knights squad started official training under new coach Michael Hagan's tough off-season training regime.  The alterations to the interchange rule next year has brought with it a change in attitude toward training. Forwards will need a greater aerobic capacity in 2001 and a hard summer of training is sure to await them. The Knights started official training at Newcastle Beach with power work and sprints on the beach and a gym workout in the afternoon. Coach Michael Hagan and performance coordinators Scott Campbell and Lee Clark put the squad through a gruelling session.  New signings Paul Marquet, Daniel Quinn and Julian Bailey joined the squad yesterday and Hagan said they fitted in well. Hagan said pre-season training had been designed with the new rule of 12 interchanges per team in mind.   The players are expected to get through a 20 minute stint on the field instead of 10. "There is a certain element of the unknown, however, about its immediate impact. All we can do as a football team is train very hard during the summer and hope that it will sustain us through what will be a very long and tough football season." 
Newcastle head coach Michael Hagan has rejected criticism of his “under-sized” forward pack and says they have held their own against some of their more fancied opponents. The Knights’ forward stocks were severely depleted in the off-season with Tony Butterfield, Peter Shiels and David Fairleigh all leaving, diminishing the size advantage Newcastle used to enjoy. The current crop have struck some gun packs early on in the season and Hagan is quick to jump to their defence on the back of some “unwarranted” criticism. “I think our guys are coping well,” Hagan said. “We understand that we are not the biggest pack going around and we’re probably coming up against some pretty good packs at the moment. Certainly the Eagles, Roosters, Bulldogs and Parramatta are amongst the best packs in the comp and then you follow that with Brisbane and Melbourne. 
Paul Harragon on pre season training -  Having popped my head in at training a fair bit already during the pre season.  I've quickly picked up on a definite change in attitude from past years.  There is a sense of harmony in the ranks, and Hages has the whoe squad extremely well drilled.  The boys appreciate the fact that he's a bit of a trend setter when it comes to inventing and setting up different balls games and drills, which means alot of variety. Just watching the boys train, I can feel the freshness and enthusiasm in the air.  That extra little spring in their step is obvious from the teams results in their speed and strenght tests this year. 

The Knights have been well-served by Clinton O’Brien and Glen Grief up front so far this season and Hagan applauds the way they have accepted the challenge of heading up the engine room, despite their lack of size. Both players were not regular starters last season so their performances in this current limited interchange environment has been worthy. “So we knew that it was a tough road and our blokes are standing up quite well. We’re getting people like Ben Kennedy and Matty Parsons almost back to full fitness as well." 
Club Captain 2001 - The Newcastle Knights have officially announced the appointment of Andrew Johns as team captain and fellow Cessnock junior, Bill Peden, to the position of club captain for 2001.  The new Knights Board of Directors who met for the first time last Tuesday, endorsed the recommendation of coach Michael Hagan that the two popular players share the captaincy roles for the coming season.  Michael Hagan said the roles would compliment each other throughout the year.  "Andrew is widely regarded as the best player in the game and is a natural on-field leader so he was an obvious choice as captain.  Bill, who has the utmost respect of his team mates, will play a vice captaincy role on the field. Naturally on occasions, such as this weekend when Andrew is not available, he will take on the captaincy role." 

Knights - Sydney Morning Herald 
The salary cap hasn't exactly screwed the Newcastle Knights but it has come on to them pretty strongly. They lost some key players and couldn't spend up to replace them. The result is that the 2001 team doesn't look quite as good as the 1997 version that won the ARL premiership. Newcastle will still fire - they have too many good players not to - but their ammunition might run out before the end. The bookies say: 15-2,  We say: Thereabouts again 

Rugby League Week - Report Card 
Depth - 6.5 out of 10.  Probably the biggest question mark hanging over the Knights this season is their depth.  If the likes of Andrew Johns, Matt Gidley and Ben Kennedy suffer major injuries,  Newcastle may struggle to match it with the heavyweights. Game Breakers - 8 out of 10 -  Andrew Johns is the best number seven in the game and few players possess his innate football brain and ability to consistently take the right option.  Matt Gidley is a class act and his three quarter potency is undisputed.  out wide, Tahu, Albert, MacDougall and O'Davis are deadly given an inch.  And then there's the forwards Ben Kennedy and Danny Buderus, who always pose questions of rival defences. 

Verdict - The Knights are a real contender despite the loss of some key personnel.  Can be lethal if given room to move, and like Brisbane have the ability to score from anywhere on the paddock.  Kennedy, Gidley and MacDougall will have benefited from their World Cup experience but Newcastles fate may ultimately rest in the hands of their young forwards. The Knights are 5-1 equal third favourites.

Hagans View - Rugby League Week. 
Pre season stand - out: Glenn Grief he's done everything so well in training and been great in the trials.  Josh Perry is the young player to watch. 
Make or Break Issue: We'll have no problem with the football but our ability to defend under pressure will decide our season, plus how we handle our players week to week in a 33 week season. Team to beat: Last years grand finalists, Brisbane and the Roosters, deserve to be early favourites.  They have the right players in the key positions.

Hagan's methods breeding success 
In Hagan's first season as a first-grade coach, his Newcastle Knights sit atop the premiership table after nine rounds. They have done that on the back of an injury and suspension list of key players that should have been debilitating and with a tough draw that had them playing four of their first six games away from their beloved Marathon Stadium.  The Knights found they had $1million less to spend on their football team this season.  The departures, especially from the forward pack, left most critics assuming the Knights would spend a couple of seasons rebuilding. Last year the Knights struggled on the road, recording just four wins and a draw. Already this year they have three wins and a draw from five away matches,  "We're not doing things flash at times, but we're doing things pretty effectively," he says. That work ethic has been enhanced by the likes of Paul Marquet, the veteran second-rower who has returned to his Newcastle home after stints with the Mariners and Melbourne. Newcastle Knights coach Michael Hagan is pulling the right reins so far with some unorthodox training moves in his inaugural season.  Previous coaches of the club took little notice of public holidays in calling training sessions but Hagan's approach is reaping the benefits. So has training on the day before matches, which has been frowned upon by many coaches in other football codes.  Once upon a time the Knights players were given the day off before a match to rest up for the clash. Hagan thinks differently and believes training the day before a game helps get players minds on the job, especially the younger players in the side.   Where once the Knights would travel to away matches a day early and rest, Hagan's horde travel and train and slip in a cricket "Test" match or two for comic relief. The most pleasing factor so far for Hagan has been the team's work ethic. "We're not doing things flash at times, but we're doing things pretty effectively," he says. That work ethic has been enhanced by the likes of Paul Marquet, the veteran second-rower who has returned to his Newcastle home after stints with the Mariners and Melbourne. "Pepe [Marquet] can't work any harder in a game of football. When he comes off you know he's given you every ounce he's got," Hagan says. "He's then impressing that on the Clint Newtons and the next young bloke."
Hagan says the team talks about being honest in defence, about not cutting corners during games or in training. He has increased the amount of positive feedback for the players, "because that's what we all thrive under. That's something that we've changed [this year]".  Simpson speaks of the good feeling in the club, about Hagan being a "fun bloke to be around", while Johns says Hagan is approachable, easygoing and has all the technical knowledge.  "He gives everyone a fair go," Johns says, "but I think the most important thing is that he's from our generation, he can really relate to the blokes and any problems they might be having.  "I think we've found a long-term coach. He's the sort of bloke that I want to play for and I think most of the blokes think the same way."

On referee Steven Clark
Referee Steve Clark saw the Knights off in 1998 with a 10-3 penalty count to the Bulldogs in an extra-time game. He was in charge in 1999 when Parramatta eliminated Newcastle on the back of an 11-4 penalty count. This season 2001 a late penalty against Matthew Gidley allowed the Northern Eagles to topple Newcastle from the premiership lead, for the record Newcastle Knights 28 were defeated by Northern Eagles 30 at Northpower Stadium.  Coach Hagan had to bite his tongue to avoid risking a possible $10,000 fine for criticising referee Steve Clark after Saturday night's controversial loss to Northern Eagles at NorthPower Stadium. Hagan and the Knights were furious with several critical decisions which Clark blew against them, including a play the ball penalty against Matthew Gidley and a disallowed try by Sean Rudder because of a supposed forward pass from Danny Buderus.  As he took his seat for the post match press conference, a fuming Hagan said he was not prepared to risk his Visa card's $10,000 credit limit on a fine for letting loose on Clark. "I've got 10 grand for shopping but I haven't got 10 grand for anything else, unless Ian's got something," Hagan said. Moments later, from his position alongside the front tables, Knights chief executive Ian Bonnette tossed his Diner's Club credit card into the mass of microphones under Hagan's nose, but the mild mannered coach should not need it.

Hagans Cake
Knights coach Michael Hagan always provides morning tea for the Knights' office staff the Monday after a victory, which meant for eight weeks in a row this year he was out of pocket. Last Monday (9 April) when he walked into the local cake shop he was greeted with: "I thought you'd left the country". His previous visit was on May 21. "I suppose the fact we won eight straight magnified the fact we'd lost four in a row but it was never the end of the world." 
The major spark was the return of Andrew Johns, whose performance Hagan rated among the best he had seen. "But the impact of Robbie O'Davis and elevation of prop Clinton O'Brien has been overshadowed," he said.  "Just the presence of Robbie O and 'Joey' at training all week lifted the whole joint too. Their enthusiasm and professionalism rubbed off instantly and you could just tell something special might have been brewing. Robbie's ability to get in the right place to support the football is outstanding and it added an element to our attack that hadn't been there."

Hagan's promotion proves time heals all wounds; Jun 16, 2000. 
When Matthew Johns was struggling to come to terms with the fact that his future lay outside of Newcastle, one of the people he turned to was Knights first-division coach Michael Hagan. Hagan, you see, had been in a similar position near the end of his playing career with the Knights the difference being that his situation was caused by the emergence of Johns in 1993. It's one of a number of ironies about Hagan's impending appointment today as Newcastle coach for the next two seasons. He even understands the dilemma Andrew Johns faces in trying to decide between staying with the Knights or moving to Brisbane to play out his career. That was the former Queenslander's long-term plan when he joined Newcastle in 1989, having begun his career six years earlier at Canterbury under the coaching of the man he will succeed, Warren Ryan, who has endorsed him for the job. And it was something he seriously considered at the end of his first season at the Knights, with Wally Lewis's days numbered at the Broncos. But things didn't work out that way. Brisbane signed Kevin Walters from Canberra and Hagan stayed on at Newcastle to become intertwined in the history of the club. Even when he moved to England in 1994, his coach at Halifax was Malcolm Reilly his first mentor not considered a Ryan protege. The following year, Reilly was in charge of the Knights and not just in coaching terms, as officials and administrative staff bailed out en masse to join Super League's rival Hunter Mariners outfit. For three years, Newcastle was a city bitterly divided and Hagan's appointment as Knights coach after his involvement with the Mariners is evidence that many of the wounds from the Super League war may have now healed. Then again, the 35-year-old former Maroons Origin representative wasn't officially involved with Newcastle at the outbreak of the war, although he had spoken to the club about a position upon his return from England. Hagan didn't want to talk about that period yesterday and he was reluctant to discuss the coaching job before officially being given the nod. But finding other people to sing his praises wasn't difficult. In fact, there doesn't seem to be anyone in the game with a bad word to say about Hagan, younger brother of Bulldogs chief executive Bob Hagan. "As a player, he was very honest, and no matter where he's been and what he's done, he's put in 100 per cent for the organisation that he's worked for," said former Knights official Robert Finch, now football manager at Canberra, where Hagan coached in 1998 and 1999. "I think not only his ability to coach would have been taken into account but the fact he brings the old traditions of Newcastle. He was there about the time the club kicked off so he knows the tough times and he knowS the camaraderie that was generated."
In other words, Hagan a journalist by occupation offers people skills as well as coaching ability at a time when the Knights are again battling to overcome internal troubles caused by the decision not to offer Matthew Johns a new contract. "I just tried to help Matthew go through the decision-making process in a fairly systematic way and make sure he was satisfied all the information was there for him to work through," Hagan said. "I really enjoy the game and I certainly like the people in the game. That's probably why I chose to get involved in coaching."

Hagan the humble; Premier coaching job surprises club stalwart - Herald. Jun 17, 2000. 
NEW Knights mentor Michael Hagan was the coach Newcastle almost never had. For at least a month after current coach Warren Ryan announced his intentions to retire, Hagan was accepted as the man to fill the breach. Even after being anointed by Ryan as his successor and countless media reports strongly linking him to the job, Hagan was not convinced he was the person for the position. Hagan's doubts were laid to rest at 2.40pm yesterday when Knights chief executive Ian Bonnette formally announced his two-year appointment. Hagan's self-doubt was typical of his down-to-earth nature. As a person and player, he has never been one to push his own barrow. In fact, he was not even going to apply for the position. `I would have been more than happy to work with a more senior-type person if that was the way the club wanted to go,' he said. `But when it got to a shortlist stage I spoke to Michael Hill and asked him whether I should be putting an application in.'
The rest is history. `I wasn't all that confident to be honest, but it's another experience to go through and to get it in the end is a good sign of confidence in me,' Hagan said. Bonnette said the board felt Hagan was the man to lead the club into the future. `Michael's knowledge of the club, and the way in which he played at the club, means he's got a tremendous contribution to make to how we structure it right down to the lower grades,' Bonnette said. Hagan will become the Knights' fifth mentor and at 35, the youngest after Allan McMahon, David Waite, Malcolm Reilly and Ryan. He played under McMahon and Waite at the Knights, Ryan at Canterbury and Reilly at Halifax. He also beat Reilly and former Bulldogs team-mate Terry Lamb for the coaching position. But only a few years ago, Hagan was not sure whether he wanted to coach. After finishing his media and public-relations job with the Hunter Mariners in 1997, he decided to pursue coaching with the Canberra first-division side. `I don't know if coaching was exactly what I was after once I finished playing,' he admitted. `I think once you finish as a player and you've got that desire to still be involved in the game like I had, it's pretty hard to get out of your system. `I chose to have a look at coaching to find out whether I might enjoy it or be suited to it. `Spending two years in Canberra, I think I arrived at the decision that if there was an opportunity to coach at first-grade level, that would be terrific. So, it was a goal in one sense, but it has probably come sooner than I had anticipated.'

MICHAEL HAGAN
Edited transcript of the Live Chat with Michael Hagan on Wednesday, July 11th 2001 
Interviewer: Tonight we are chatting to Newcastle Knights coach Michael Hagan. Hi Michael, how are you and where are you chatting from tonight? 
Michael Hagan: I’m very well and I’m chatting from beautify Redhead in Newcastle, I’m sitting on the balcony and listening to the waves crash in at the moment 
Interviewer: How long have you been coaching the Newcastle Knights? 
Michael Hagan: I've been coaching first grade this year, and I started coaching the 1st division team in 2000 
Interviewer: How long did you play rugby for yourself? 
Michael Hagan: I played from age 7 with a junior club in Brisbane called West Michelton and then I played in Sydney and then til about 31 when I retired in '95' 
Interviewer: What is the most memorable game you have either played or coached? 
Michael Hagan: Well I think last Friday would be up there as a game from a coaching point of view, beating the bronco's by 44 point was pretty good. From a playing point of view winning the 88 grand final with Canterbury. 
Interviewer: TweetyGaL: MichaelHagan may I ask how old r u? 
Michael Hagan: you may and I’m 36 about to turn 37 in August, that means I’m an old player and a young coach. 
Interviewer: Who are your most promising youngsters in the side? 
Michael Hagan: At this point it would be people like Josh Perry, Timana Tahu, Clint Newton, and Justin Ryder. 
Interviewer: Do you think the umpiring was one sided during the last State of Origin match? 
Michael Hagan: We it probably depends on what team you barrack for, I’m from brissy and I thought it was quite good. If your from NSW you would think it was one sided, although I don't think you can deny Qld the game. 
Interviewer: What other sports do you follow ? 
Michael Hagan: I followed Pat Cash the other night like every other Aussie, I watch a bit of AFL, some of the English soccer. I like most sports, I don’t follow them exclusively but watch most sports. 
Interviewer: What hobbies do you have ? 
Michael Hagan: They would be spending time with my family, surfing occasionally and the odd game of golf. 
Interviewer: Shawn_Michaels: what's wrong with the raiders this year...and do you like the warriors chances? 
Michael Hagan: I coached at the raiders for a few years between 98 and 99 so I have a soft spot for them. I think they are suffering from player loss, the likes of Lorry Daily who retired last year, David Ferner, Brett Mullen who is paying in England. Bradley Clyde left the Raiders about 2 years ago, so they have lost a few players with good experience, that might be one of the reasons. As for the Warriors, I do like their chances, they have been the real improvers of the 2001 competition but I hope they don't improve too much as we have to play them in about 2 weeks time. 
Interviewer: diamond24: Michael other than your golf clubs what is your handicap 
Michael Hagan: well.... I don't have an official handicap as I’ve never been a member, but unofficially its about 18-20, I’d like it to be 2 or 3 :) 
Interviewer: Dinner party for 4 people, who would you invite and why? 
Michael Hagan: I would go with a few sporting people, tiger woods, Michael Jordan and I think I would go with Jack Nicholson, and Elizabeth Hurley might get a seat as well, I think I’d give her an invite. 
Interviewer: ^THE_DEMON^: do u think Brad Fittler is a better player than the mighty Andrew Johns? 
Michael Hagan: Hrmm... I think Brad as his absolute best may have been a better player than Andrew, but on current form and the fact that Andrew is at his peak right now, I think Andrew is arguably a better player than Brad at this point. 
Interviewer: Shawn_Michaels: are there any players you would buy off other teams like Stacy Jones for example? 
Michael Hagan: I think every club and every coach is on the look out for the best players they can recruit for their team. I haven't got any examples as to who that would be and our tight budgeting and restrictions don't even allow me to think about who they would be. 
Interviewer: What do you think of the state of Rugby League in Australia as a whole, how could the competition be improved? 
Michael Hagan: Well I think they have taken a fairly major step in improving it by inviting South Sydney back into the competition next year. I think the game could do with maybe one other team in South East Qld. 
Interviewer: Are you married? and do you have any children? if so - what ages? 
Michael Hagan: Yes I’m married, and I have 3 daughters, I have twins aged 10 and another daughter aged 7. 
Interviewer: Shawn_Michaels: who are you picking for Friday night ...Australia or the mighty Kiwis? 
Michael Hagan: I'll be tipping Australia on that note, especially as we have 4 Newcastle players in the team. 
Interviewer: What sort of a car do you drive? 
Michael Hagan: I drive a Holden Jackaroo at the moment and my wife’s Ford Station wagon occasionally, I could have said a Ferrari but that would be very honest LOL 
Interviewer: Are you a tea or coffee drinker? lol - and how do you feel about alcohol consumption in general? 
Michael Hagan: I'm a reasonable consumer of coffee and tea, about 3-4 cups a day, and my thoughts would be alcohol in moderation. 
Interviewer: DO you live on a large property - if so - do you have any animals or pets - what’s ur favourite? 
Michael Hagan: We have a modest home and we have a dog, Golden Retriever, who keeps escaping from the yard we have so I’ve been chasing it down the street the last few days. 
Interviewer: Do you have another job besides coaching? 
Michael Hagan: Coaching is full time at the moment for me, I don’t' think I’d have time for another job. 
Interviewer: ^THE_DEMON^: who do u think will be in this years grand final and why? 
Michael Hagan: I think we could maybe pencil Newcastle in there as I think we are a good chance and finish in the top 4 teams and the Grand final will come from the top 4. The other team is Parramatta who are playing well at the moment. 
Interviewer: At what age did you begin playing? have you always enjoyed sport? were you always good at it? 
Michael Hagan: I began playing League at 7, I have played sport all my life and have enjoyed every minute of it. 
Interviewer: Shawn_Michaels: are there any young guys you think will have IT in the future? 
Michael Hagan: I think we have a few young guys at the club who are very talented. One of them is Kurt Gidley who is only 19 and is the younger brother of Matt Gidley and I think he is a very good chance of playing first grade in the near future. 
Interviewer: Nicole: do you consider Joey the best in world 
Michael Hagan: I'm of the opinion he is the best playing in the world at the moment and that was reinforced by his 5 star performance last Friday against Brisbane, and also by the fact that he is leading the Dally M awards having missed 6 games of the competition. 
Interviewer: Shawn_Michaels: Did you enjoy playing the legends of league match? 
Michael Hagan: Yes I enjoyed it thoroughly, I’m paying the price though, my back is killing me LOL 
Interviewer: ^THE_DEMON^: do u think matt johns will come back to the NRL and lay for the sharks 
Michael Hagan: Reading between the lines in recent media stories it would appear I think he will play for the sharks next season and I also spoke with the sharks coach and Australian coach Chris Anderson recently and he expressed he was keen for Matthew to join the sharks next season. 
Interviewer: sNick: what do you think of the plan to dissolve the U/20s comp?? 
Michael Hagan: I'm not in favour of that option, Newcastle has been served very well by having the under 20's, first division and 1st grade as the natural progression for the juniors to advance 
Interviewer: Thank you for chatting with us tonight and good luck with the rest of the season. 
Michael Hagan: Thank you very much it has been a pleasure. 
 

"I began playing League at 7, I have played sport all my life and have enjoyed every minute of it."

Hagan at home in the hot seat; Sep 20, 2001. pg. 34 
Knights coach Michael Hagan talks to BRETT KEEBLE about the many highs and occasional lows of his first year in charge of an NRL first-grade team. 
Newcastle Herald: What has been the most difficult aspect of your first year as a first-grade coach? Michael Hagan: There's probably a little bit more pressure brought on by the expectation of the first-grade performance and the season for first grade in amongst all the other club stuff. While the other grades are important, the focus is still first grade and making sure you get some result or success there. But you expect that with the territory. You always seem organised and in control of your workload from day to day and week to week, but has that extra pressure of the job affected you personally? The apprenticeship that I've been able to undertake, and being able to work in second grade and/or a part-time first-grade role at Canberra and again here last year with Warren Ryan, there's no question that has helped me understand what the role requires. There's certain tasks that you have to get done every week irrespective of winning or losing, so it's a matter of putting some time aside to get them done. You'd always like some more time, but you have to manage as best you can. The most difficult period was probably the first six weeks, when we had some short weeks from Sunday to Friday and you still have to get things done so you need to get things done a day ahead of time. When you've got that steady routine of Sunday to Sunday between games, you do seem to have more time to get certain things done. Have you made a conscious effort to change the culture of the club, given your role as club coach overseeing every grade? I think the club has always had an element of development and making sure we produce talented players from under-16s through to first grade, but we've probably lost sight of that a little bit in recent times in respect of the under-20s, first division and first grade all being part of the senior club. So there's probably still some work to do there, but we're certainly working on all that sort of stuff. Earlier this year after a Friday night game in Brisbane, and a late-night flight home afterwards, you were back on the job early the next morning watching the juniors play at Nelson Bay. Does that sort of schedule make your job a labour of love? There's two parts to it. I get a fair bit of enjoyment out of watching young players play and represent Newcastle. The other side of that is the club's best strength is the development program that it has, so it makes sense to foster as much of that as you can and bring the next generation of kids along. Is coaching a juggling act, given that you lost Andrew Johns for eight games this year, you never had your full complement of outside backs until the first week of the semi-finals and there are always injuries to consider when selecting your forwards each week? It's just a matter of being prepared and sometimes expecting the worst to happen. Coaching second grade, you know every week that you're going to have some sort of drama occur and you've just got to cope with it. As difficult as it is sometimes without your best players, once that's established and you've got to go with a younger player or try to reshuffle things, it's really then about trying to do the best you can with who's available and showing a bit of confidence in them. I think every club has gone through their share of that sort of stuff this year. Do you regret not giving someone like James Wynne a crack at the halfback position when Andrew Johns first went down injured? It's like anything. If you don't look back and review things and think maybe I could have done things differently, you're not doing your job. As to whether it would have solved the problems, I'm not sure. James Wynne probably wasn't playing as well at that time when Joey got injured, but certainly later on, when Joey was unavailable for a couple of games, he was considered and handled it pretty well, I thought. Sometimes you're a bit reluctant to give a person an opportunity, but when they actually get that opportunity and they handle it pretty well, you think, well, maybe I should have done that in the first place. You have often stated this year how much you enjoy watching Andrew Johns play each week and the entertaining style of football the Knights play. 
But you must have enjoyed seeing some young players become established first-graders and, in some cases, representative players. 
The really pleasing and positive thing to come out of this year has been the progress of people like Sean Rudder, who has now started every game bar one and came off the bench in that; Steve Simpson touch wood 
who hasn't missed a game; Timana Tahu has taken another step this year in terms of playing consistently well. We've seen Josh Perry progress from four games to upwards of 20 games, and we're seeing some real improvement in Daniel Abraham as he develops into a back-rower. There's been a number of very good achievements from individuals who have played a more significant role this year than they did last year. Even little things like watching Andrew now as captain and kicking goals at 80%. That's an improvement and an achievement by him this year, so there's been any number of good steps forward in terms of the football club and the football team. And, behind all of that, the first division and Jersey Flegg teams are also one win away from the grand final, the under-18s won the SG Ball premiership and the under-16s made the semi-finals of Harold Matthews. It all comes back to the fact that we know we're not as wealthy or well off as some clubs, but we have the ability to keep identifying and producing talented people. And in fairness, a lot of the people that we've been able to retain Johnny Morris, Daniel Abraham, Clint Newton, Matt Jobson, through to Timana Tahu and Josh Perry, amongst others have all basically agreed to stay here for less. That's a good sign of the club's culture at the moment that players want to be here and be a part of our football team. How difficult has it been to deal with players you might have played with, especially when it came down to choosing between two players for the one position? It's been difficult in some respects with having to make certain decisions on the squad for a certain week. An example of that would be Paul Marquet and asking him to have a week off when he was struggling a bit; expecting him to play first division against the Cowboys, which he didn't handle too well at the time. Forcing Billy Peden to have a week off because I thought he'd just about hit the wall with a few things; Clinton O'Brien, having him play four games in first division when he's not too fond of doing that. They're the sorts of things you've got to confront from time to time. But it's the same process as when I coached second grade. You've got to make decisions based on the best interests of the team and go with it. What sort of a role did you play last year when you came in to help Warren Ryan? I think I was just trying to help in more of a supporting role and trying to provide some level of feedback, maybe introduce a couple of things in terms of how we trained and breaking down how we played a bit for him. It was really just to provide an additional service to the first-grade team, and that's probably something they were looking for at that time. Was it a daunting task having to follow Warren, given his reputation? In some respects, but there had also been a fairly wide gap develop in terms of how old Warren was in respect to how young our football team is. I think it's actually helped me from the point of view that I am able to relate a bit better to them at the moment. You captained the Knights for four or five years and were one of the heroes as a player during the club's early history, then you were cast as a villain because of your role with the Hunter Mariners in the Super League war. That carried over when you came back to the Knights as a coach. Now you are two wins away from coaching the Knights to their first united premiership, and many of those critics will treat you as a hero all over again. Has the irony of that scenario occurred to you at all? There was always going to be a difficult period initially when I came back, and I was probably pretty surprised to get the job in the first place, to be fair about the whole thing. But my thoughts are just really focusing on doing the job as well as you can. If you can achieve something in that period by having done the best you can with the talent available, that's probably the main focus for me. If we're good enough to go on to do something, that would be a good achievement by the club and good for the town. Has it been important to be surrounded by a network of some former team-mates like football manager Mark Sargent and assistant coach Brad Godden and other `old boys'? I think the club has had a lot of very strong people involved in it as players who are now actively part of the club or working in the background. Sarge has been an enormous help to me this year in his role, Tony Butterfield on the board has been very supportive, Paul Harragon is never far away, Steve Crowe is part of the club's administration, Goddo, Marc Glanville. There are a lot of very good people in and around the periphery who are supportive of me and the team, which is a positive thing for the club? In such a long season there are ups and downs losing to the Tigers at Campbelltown and big wins at home over Parramatta, Brisbane and the semi-final over the Roosters. But by hook or by crook you have to reach this game this weekend to earn the right to make the grand final. Apart from the absence of Darren Albert and Julian Bailey, you are at full-strength and injury-free, so you must give the team a great chance of going all the way? You have to make sure you learn from certain setbacks. Wests Tigers was a devastating loss. We got towelled up by Parramatta at Parramatta by 40, although the performance was not that bad and we knew at that time that we were running with some of our younger or less-experienced players. Through all of that we hoped that if we got our good players back which we've done and we've finished the year off particularly well that we could put ourselves into a very good position to at least have a really good crack at the Sharks this week and hopefully Parramatta or the Broncos the week after. It's not about being at your very best every week during the comp. It's about being at your best when the heat's on a bit. Hopefully we've learnt from last year's exercise against the Roosters at this same stage, and you hope you don't have to go through that again, but you may have to go through it. At least we're going to have that opportunity to do that now.
 

Captains -  28 Sep 2001.  Newcastle Herald
MICHAEL HAGAN (1990-1993) 
'It's an exciting time for the club and I'm sure I am with all the other captains in wishing them well for the night. 'I'm quite privileged to be the first former player to coach the football team. 'I will be enjoying it and wishing the team every success. 'I've been around football and football games for a long time, and it is a good time of the year to be involved.' 

Season 2001, Grand Final preview 
2001 season began February 17, twenty-six rounds, three Origin matches and a test match later, it all comes down to two teams; Parramatta and Newcastle. 
The Newcastle Knights return to the Grand Final scene for their first big dance since 1997 when they scored a famous last second victory over Manly. Their past fourteen matches have been a roller-coaster ride for the Knights and their supporters, playing lose three, win four football during that time. Their longest winning streak for the season stands at eight but that was between rounds six and thirteen. Since then they have managed two streaks of four wins. Ironically, they won their fourth in succession when they defeated the Sharks 18-10. The Knights back five have 59 tries for the season.  Season 2001 has seen Andrew Johns claim the mantle of best player in the game, despite Preston Campbell winning the Dally M Award for Best and Fairest player in the competition.  The Knights have rarely lost this season when Johns has been playing, however when he has missed through either injury or suspension, they have struggled to win. Johns missed the Round 17 match at Parramatta Stadium, and Newcastle were humiliated 40-0. A scoreline that is hard to see being repeated in this big game. 
Danny Buderus, the Newcastle hooker, was an unheralded player before the start of the season, but found himself in the national side come mid-season and has had an excellent season to date. His front row pair, Josh Perry and Matt Parsons are two of the Knights quiet achievers, yet have played very well during the business end of the season. Parsons does much more work than his 20 year-old partner, however both can be dynamic in attack, and lay the big hit when called upon to defend the Knights line. While Steve Simpson is a workman like second rower, his partner Ben Kennedy has become one of the leading second rowers in the game. Last week alone he gained 138 meters, leading all Newcastle forwards, and scored the match-sealing try, rising high above Preston Campbell to haul down a cross-field bomb from Andrew Johns to score and put the game out of the Sharks reach. His mobility is outstanding and manages to hand out off-loads like mixed lollies to children at milk bars. 
Newcastle lock Bill Pedan is more of the throwback mould, relying on poise and savvy to earn his paycheck. He is Newcastle’s second goal kicker, though that is more by default, as the Knights are not loaded with skilled kickers after Andrew Johns. Rest assured, Peden will graft his way to another good performance. 
The NRL Clive Churchill Medal favourite for the Grand final is Andrew Johns.

Knights keen to keep coach poachers away 
Newcastle coach Michael Hagan will open talks this week aimed at heading off any attempts by rival NRL clubs to poach him for the 2003 season. Despite winning the National Rugby League premiership at his first attempt last year, the Knights have yet to make a move to extend the former Queensland Origin star's contract, which will expire early in October. However, speaking in Leeds ahead of Friday night's World Club Championship clash with English premiers Bradford, Hagan revealed: "I'm keen to sort something out pretty soonish. [Knights chief executive] Ian Bonnette has mentioned something to me about sitting down this week and having a chat. "I'd like to look at something like two years, but I haven't really discussed that with the club. I'm keen to stay if everything is OK." 
Hagan said he is at ease with the Knights' inability to sign recognised first graders from outside the club because of salary cap constraints. "I've got an understanding of the reasons behind that and we are trying to do the best we can with the financial restrictions we have," he said. "It's practical, aside from anything else, to be contracted for the following season if you're going to be talking about retaining players and planning for the future."

Season 2002 
World Cup Challenge 
The annual clash between the NRL premiers and the English Super League champions - this year Bradford - will take place on February 1 in Huddersfield.  The Knights will be without Adam MacDougall (groin) Timana Tahu (groin) and Ben Kennedy (shoulder), but Hagan believes a "nucleus" of Andrew Johns and Danny Buderus, combined with the enthusiasm of several young players, can help overcome the loss of the internationals as well as young winger Timana Tahu (groin).  "Without some of our best players, we've got the opportunity to give some of our young guys a chance to perform over there," Hagan said.  "We're relying on three or four young guys to step up next season anyway." 
Newcastle coach Michael Hagan likes the concept of the World Club Challenge but questioned the game's timing.  "There's a place for it (the World Club Challenge). As to where it sits, the game is weighted a bit towards them (because) it's played over there at the coldest time of the year and they have the opportunity for a couple of training games under their belt," he said. "We won't have the luxury of that because we'll only have three weeks back after our Christmas break. "So it's weighted towards them in some respects but I do think that it's still a good reward for winning the comp. "These young guys get a trip to England and a chance to test themselves against their Pommy counterparts." 

NRL 2002 season 
The National Rugby League has announced it will kick off the 2002 season with a Country Carnival commencing on March 1 and end with an evening Grand Final on October 6 to decide the Telstra Premiership.  The Telstra Premiership will commence on March 15 and be played over 26 rounds with a four week final series, Wednesday State of Origin matches, a City versus Country game and a July test match. Newcastle Knights coach Michael Hagan is satisfied with the schedual for his teams premiership defence.  The Knights will kick off their season against the Northern Eagles at North Power Stadium on March 16 or 17. The 15 NRL sides have been grouped in three pools of five according to their finishing order last season, with teams to face other teams in their pool once and the remaining 10 teams twice.  The Knights are in Pool A with the Roosters, Tigers, Cowboys and Bulldogs, they will play those teams once each. Newcastle will play the other teams twice each, home and away, but there is no regularity in the intervals between those games. 
Newcastles first bye is on the weekend of May 11 and 12, meaning players selected in the city-country game (May 10) will not have to back up.  The second bye is in round 12, the weekend before Origin 2 in Brisbane on June 5. Highlights of the season will be the Grand Final rematches against Parramatta which have been schedualed just three weeks apart - in rounds 14 and 17, and the much aniticipated return to Marathon of South Sydney in round 11 (May 24 - 26).  The format for the final's series is yet to be confirmed, but is most likely to be the McIntyre system. 

Pre Season 
The Knights training hasn't been exotic.  Players have been doing more work in the pool and on the bike and less of the leg work that has marked previous pre seasons.  Michael Hagan is keeping his players relatively fresh.  The club's five Kangaroo's are not expected back until Christmas. 

NEWCASTLE KNIGHTS 
Gains: None 
Losses: Glenn Grief (Souths), Paul Franze (Sharks), Darren Albert (St Helens), Greg Bird (Sharks), Paul Marquet (Retired), Troy Fletcher (Released). 
2001 Record: Played 29, Won 19, Lost 9, Drew 1. Finished: 1st (3rd after 26 rounds). 

Knights secure services of Hagan until 2004 - 23 February 2002
The Newcastle Knights have secured the services of premiership wining coach, Michael Hagan, until the end of 2004.  Speaking today he said he was extremely happy to have settled his future in Newcastle after a short negotiation period. "I was very happy with the terms of the agreement and the fact that I will be here for the next three years at least," he said.  "The club is in very good shape in terms of playing talent, with five current Kangaroos, all of whom have plenty of years ahead of them. The prospect of continuing to work with them is something I'm obviously looking forward to."

Joey backs Hagan as long-term solution; Herald. Feb 23, 2002. 
NEWCASTLE Knights captain and halfback Andrew Johns believes Michael Hagan can emulate Wayne Bennett and Kevin Sheedy and become the club's first `career coach'. In a ringing endorsement of Hagan's decision to agree to terms on a two-year extension to his existing deal, taking him through to the end of the 2004 season, Johns said Hagan was the right man to guide the Knights for the next decade or more. Bennett has been the Broncos' only coach since Brisbane joined the premiership in 1988 and Sheedy has held the reins of AFL top guns Essendon since 1982. Hagan took the Knights to last year's NRL title in his first season as coach. The world's best player wants to see him surpass Mal Reilly (1995-1998) as the club's longest-serving mentor. `I said after the grand final last year that I think we've found ourselves a career coach,' Johns said last night from Port Macquarie. `To do here what Kevin Sheedy has done at Essendon and Wayne Bennett's done at Brisbane, it's good stability for a club to have the same coach for a long period when he's the right person for the job. `Tactically he's very smart. His management skills are exceptional. `It's a pretty hard job managing all the different personalities in a squad but he does that very well, he keeps everyone happy and everyone wants to win for him. That's very important.' 
Johns, whose own contract also expires at the end of 2004, hopes Hagan's decision helps influence many of the team's star players who come off contract this year. Internationals Matt Gidley and Danny Buderus, NSW representative Mark Hughes, club captain Bill Peden and pivot Sean Rudder will be free agents at the end of the season unless they come to terms with the Knights beforehand. `That can only help, so it would be nice to think we can keep the whole nucleus of the side together,' Johns said. `Everyone who has played under Hages enjoys their footy and are familiar with him. He understands how young blokes tick.' 

Sheedy to share trade secrets with Hagan; Herald. Mar 2, 2002.
KNIGHTS mentor Michael Hagan will seek another audience with AFL coaching guru Kevin Sheedy next week to put the finishing touches on Newcastle's preparation for their NRL premiership defence. Hagan hopes to fly to Melbourne mid-week to swap ideas with Sheedy, the record-breaking four-time premiership-winning coach of AFL top guns Essendon. The coaching apprentice and master first met in late 2000, shortly after Hagan succeeded Warren Ryan one of rugby league's `super coaches' at the Knights. Hagan said Sheedy had once made a similar request of the great Jack Gibson about the time Gibson was building a dynasty at Parramatta in the early 1980s. `I'd read that when he got the job at Essendon he wrote to Jack Gibson, who was the guru of coaching in rugby league, and he got to speak with him,' Hagan said. `Given that he (Sheedy) has been in the game 20 years as a coach and I was just starting, I thought he might be a good place to start. I arranged a meeting in and around all his speaking engagements in Sydney and we talked for an hour or so over coffee, just as we were about to start our pre-season. He mightn't have been all that familiar with our code and who I was, which was hardly surprising and didn't bother me at all, but it was just an opportunity to meet him.' 
Hagan said it was only natural to seek a follow-up meeting as Sheedy had coached Essendon to back-to-back titles in 1984 and 1985 and narrowly missed out last year when the Bombers, having won the 2000 AFL crown, lost to Brisbane in the grand final. `In terms of football coaches in modern times, I figured he might be a fairly good bloke to bounce a couple of things off,' he said. `Given that they won the comp in 2000 and made the grand final in 2001, I figure he'd be someone worthwhile talking to in respect of backing up from one year to the next. I have to ring his PA on Monday and try to pin him down to a day.'

Coach Michael Hagan gives an update on the Knights in 2003.
A convincing win over the Eels on the weekend. You must be happy with the two points given five players were backing up from midweek Origin commitments and the disappointing loss to the Panthers the week before? 
Michael: On the back of Origin you’re always happy to get the two points. You know your players are going to be tired. Parramatta didn’t have anyone involved in Origin so they came, I guess, with fairly high expectations and were hopeful of an upset when we had a couple of players backing up. So yes, we’re very happy to get the two points on the board.

You’re the assistant coach of the Maroons. Where did they go wrong in Origin II and what do they need to do to get up to scratch for game 3? 
Michael: In hindsight NSW played exceptionally well. Their first half was nearly faultless football with Andrew Johns kicking game being very good. I guess we didn’t control the football as well as we should have done and we didn’t defend as well as we could have on a couple of their key players. They’re two areas that we really need to work on for game 3.

Do you have any aspirations to coach the Maroons in the near future? 
Michael: Just having had the opportunity and the experience of working with Wayne Bennett has been really positive from my point of view. I haven’t really given much thought to what might occur down the track, but I guess that everyone aspires to play or coach at the best level they can and the opportunity of coaching the Maroons is definitely something I would consider if it was on offer in the future.

Ben Kennedy’s suspension was tough and he will essentially miss six games, 4 Telstra Premiership games, Origin III and the upcoming Test match. Do you think it’s fair that he’s suspended from premiership games when the infringement happened in a rep game? 
Michael: The clubs provide the top players to Origin and if the player is suspended or injured, we have to wear the cost of that. We obviously have to abide by the rules that are in place for Origin games from a disciplinary point of view, but I do think the penalty seems reasonably harsh in the context of the offence. Aside from club games, he is also missing an Origin and a test cap which, in our opinion, probably carries more weight than a club game, and the fact that his penalty also includes a bye for us means another week that we don’t have him for. It is something that we may have to have a look at for future Origin and/or representative games.

You have some exceptionally gifted players in the Knights including the Australian captain, Timanu Tahu and arguably the #1 second rower (Ben Kennedy) and hooker (Danny Buderus) in the world. Is it a team of champions or a champion team? Or Both? 
Michael: Certainly, we are fortunate to have those types of players available to us. Having said that, I guess in the case of Andrew Johns, Timana Tahu, Danny Buderus and Matt Gidley, they have all come through the Newcastle system from a young age and we have managed to keep them here because we do have a good football team which they like to be a part of. So I think we certainly have some champion individuals but we also have a very good football team that works well together and I think they all appreciate playing alongside some of those other types of players.

How do you go about fostering individual talent as well as coordinating such a powerhouse side? 
Michael: It does involve a bit of a balance. Ultimately you need to work with those individuals on a weekly basis, making sure they are performing at the level we expect from them. But you also have to have a focus on the team components and the opponent you are playing that weekend.

Are there any new promising juniors in the Newcastle region that we might see in the first grade squad in the near future? 
Michael: There probably is but it is sometimes difficult to pinpoint who exactly they’re going to be because at 18 or 19 you’re not quite sure how they might progress physically. There are a couple of players in the under-19’s this year who are promising - Michael Young, another is Brendan Worth and our hooker Michael Innes, who played NSW under-19’s this year. So I guess they are three that we might see a bit of maybe this year or the year after.

Who do you think will be in the top four heading into the finals?
Michael: It’s really hard to say at this stage because it is so congested and there is a really exciting run home for the semi-finals. I guess the current top six teams will figure in the top four but as to who that is going to be, I guess its pretty wide open at the moment.

The anti-tampering deadline ended this week. What are your thoughts on it and do you think it has a major impact on player performance around this time?
Michael: I think it can have a negative impact on players performance around this time because obviously if people have their future to consider that can sometimes affect how they play. If we could push that deadline back, even to the end of August perhaps and maybe before the semi-finals start, it allows you to assess your players over 20 or 24 weeks rather than 12 or 14 weeks at the moment. But, again, they’re the rules and we have to work towards those at the moment. The Players Association, the clubs and the NRL all have to look at what is the best for clubs and/or players and managers in the future.

The Knights have just resigned Josh Perry and Daniel Abraham. Can we expect any major new signings for next year?
Michael: From outside I don’t think we will be recruiting any significant first grade quality. Our policy is to try to retain our young players and promote from within so I would say that we are going to be very much the same for next year. 

The Knights have a pretty intense stretch coming up around Round 19 with a tough Friday night game against Penrith between a State of Origin match and a Test against New Zealand. Are you doing anything to prepare for that now, or will you just take it as it comes?
Michael: I think we are certainly mindful of the schedule for our rep players and trying to manage how much training and how many minutes they play in games, but ultimately you still need to win your share of games at this time of the season. I guess we are expecting a lot from them but we’ll know a bit more after Origin and the Test what sort of shape they’re in. It will definitely be a difficult couple of weeks for our club.

Playing the Bulldogs on Sunday at Telstra Stadium. It’s an important match for both sides sitting in sixth and seventh position. What can we expect from the game and what’s the key to coming away with the win?
Michael: I think that games between Newcastle and the Bulldogs are always pretty gripping. Our first meeting this year was a very physical contest with the final score being 12-6 which I think was the first time we had won against them for a couple of years. So I would expect a fairly close contest again with the forward packs being where it is decided. The halfbacks and the kicking game of Brent Sherwin against Andrew Johns will have a fair bearing on the outcome so it should be another fantastic game between the two clubs.