Lachie Neale locked in as Lions’ grand-final sub
Oliver Caffrey and Roger Vaughan |
Lachie Neale will start as Brisbane’s sub in the AFL grand final, more than a decade after he filled the same role in his first appearance in a premiership decider.
Neale, who was Fremantle’s sub in the 2013 loss to Hawthorn, will again come off the bench in the Lions’ clash with Geelong at the MCG on Saturday.
Jack Martin has been named the Cats’ sub.
Neale is determined to prove he made the right call in declaring himself fit.
The two-time Brownlow Medal winner will make a remarkable return for his fourth grand final, just 22 days after hurting his calf in the qualifying-final loss to the Cats.
Initial scans had him sidelined for six weeks, with Neale himself initially believing his season was over.
“I look like a bit of a goose. I put an Instagram post up saying my season was done, and poor me, and now it looks a bit silly,” Neale said.
“It’s been a little bit of a roller-coaster, emotionally.
“The last couple of weeks, I’ve just tried to focus on my rehab and sort of home in on that and support the boys through a couple of really good finals where they’ve performed so well.
“Really proud of the guys to get in this position.”
Neale didn’t do much during the Lions’ captain’s run at the MCG on Friday, but the 32-year-old rarely extends himself a day before the game.
He was mostly restricted to handballing with assistant coach Cameron Bruce and kicking to teammates, without testing his calf at all.
Speaking on Friday, Neale and Lions coach Chris Fagan left the door ajar to using the four-time All-Australian as sub.
Saturday will be the first time he has started as a sub since round one, 2014.
Neale had already proven his fitness with a big session last Saturday, then during further training on Tuesday and Thursday.
He replaces injured teammate Jarrod Berry as the only change from last week’s preliminary-final win against Collingwood at the MCG.
“I’ve copped a fair bit from the Cats fans out there (during the grand-final parade) that I wasn’t right, so I’ve heard it all week,” Neale said.
“We have 22 other pretty good stories that hopefully get a run over the next couple of days.
“There’s some special stories in our group, and I’m a bit sick of mine.”
While Neale was able to tell coach Fagan he was right to go at Thursday’s main training session, Berry selflessly made the call to pull out of contention for the grand final.
It was the second time Berry had hurt his shoulder in five weeks, with the 27-year-old knowing he couldn’t completely trust his body in the biggest game of the year.
“He’s a great team man, Bez,” Lions co-captain Harris Andrews said.
“He does everything he can to support the boys around the club, and to see a little bit of his anxiousness about his shoulder and put his hand up to say ‘I’m not right’.
“It’s inspiring, but it’s also energising at the same time because he wants to put the team ahead of himself.”
AAP
