One day: AFL coach interviews are boring, safe and devoid of strong opinion. They've become over-media-managed, so why bother?
Next day: How dare an AFL coach have an opinion on another club. Stick to your lane, guys, it's totally out of line.
We're talking the landscape pre and post Chris Fagan's opinions on St Kilda's expensive recruiting spree.
The Brisbane coach clearly relaxed and let down his guard in an annual sit-down with Queensland-based afl.com.au journo Michael "Fish" Whiting.
"Fish", one of the media's least intimidating good guys, hooked a headline.
"I'm hoping those numbers we saw last year, via St Kilda, don't become a reality. I saw that as a bit of a danger to the game," Fagan said.
"I think the best players in the competition deserve to be paid the most in the competition and that's not the case at the moment."
It was a wide-ranging chat. A large chunk of the time was spent speaking on the rise of the club for another project, followed by a few quick questions at the end on the coming season.
And Bang! "Fish" gets the yarn.
Good on St Kilda for replying and defending its position, particularly given the Lions' fortune with father-sons and academy players. Again, more angst and more honesty.
But please, let's move on. Bravo Fagan for your honesty.
On Thursday, St Kilda great Nick Riewoldt told Triple M he would be "shocked" if Fagan didn't apologise.
Apologise for what?
"Fish" was just doing his job, and Fagan his.
