AFL star Neale’s headline-making final year with Lions
Oliver Caffrey |
In about 15 years’ time, Lachie Neale will be a legend in the Brisbane Lions’ Hall of Fame.
His career in Queensland, after a bombshell trade request to leave Fremantle at the end of 2018, has been remarkable.
Already an outstanding player with the Dockers, Neale’s career has reached heights expected more of No.1 draft picks, not those selected at No.58.
Two premierships as co-captain, two Brownlow Medals, four Brisbane Lions best-and-fairests, four All-Australian selections … it’s the resume of fantasy.
Neale’s arrival at the club immediately changed the fortunes of the Lions, who had suffered a painful decade in the doldrums.
After going nine years without playing finals, they haven’t missed a September campaign since.
The star midfielder has been such a transformational figure he will always be thought of as a Brisbane player, even though he will have likely played for three clubs by the end of his career.
But his eighth – and almost certainly final – year at the club has been nothing short of a soap opera.
It all began heading into grand-final week last year.
Neale overcame what he and the club thought was a season-ending injury to play a starring role in the 2025 decider against Geelong.
Given no chance of playing after hurting his calf in a qualifying final, Neale was selected for the grand final as a sub.
When injected into the game at the start of the third quarter, Neale helped swing a tight tussle dramatically in Brisbane’s favour.
With 17 disposals, seven clearances and one goal that will live forever in grand-final folklore, Neale rubber-stamped himself as an all-time great of the Lions, a champion to sit comfortably alongside the immortals of their golden-era team from the early 2000s.
On top of the AFL world, nothing could seemingly stop Neale.
After dominating headlines for his football feats, the 33-year-old found himself in a different section of the news by the end of the year.
On December 19, Neale’s wife Jules went public about being “betrayed in the most unimaginable way” that led to the breakdown of their marriage.
The scandal became salacious clickbait and tabloid fodder for weeks, before Neale publicly addressed the situation on January 2 and gave up the co-captaincy of the Lions.
Jules had moved back to her hometown of Perth with their two young children, creating doubt about whether he would stay in Brisbane.
Neale committed to playing out the last year of his contract with the Lions.
But the prevailing thought was he would move back to Western Australia, returning to the Dockers, or signing with West Coast in what would be a massive boost for the struggling Eagles.
Brisbane wouldn’t stand in his way of being closer to his children.
Neale continued to perform on the field, as most of his stats matched up well with career-highs.
As Brisbane chased a historic premiership three-peat, Neale was carefully plotting his way out of the Lions.
Most of it surfaced publicly.
The curve-ball was Collingwood entering the race for Neale.
Already a starting midfielder at a powerhouse club in premiership contention, why would he consider a move to Melbourne when his children were in Perth?
Even Lions coach Chris Fagan was bemused.
“That would be a bit of a head-scratcher for me,” Fagan told SEN about the possibility of Neale joining Collingwood.
“But it’s his business how he sees this and where he thinks the best location is for him in relation to his family.”
But after touring the Magpies’ headquarters, just a day before Brisbane were belted by Carlton at Marvel Stadium, Neale’s move to the team that defeated the Lions in the 2023 grand final had become a mere formality.
Despite the constant focus on Neale, the Lions managed to qualify for a shot at a historic premiership three-peat by outlasting Hawthorn in an unforgettable preliminary final.
The jubilation from one of the greatest games in AFL history lasted less than 24 hours.
Neale had been suspended for an off-the-ball strike on Hawks’ forward Jack Ginnivan.
The drama lasted all week in a story that again transcended the AFL.
He was eventually cleared by the appeals board, just minutes after the Lions had lodged their team to take on Fremantle in the grand final.
Neale fell just short of claiming the Norm Smith Medal in the 2024 smashing of Sydney, then produced a blistering two-quarter burst last year.
Although he hasn’t had his best finals series, there is at least one more bombshell plot twist left in Neale’s Lions’ career before 5.30 pm on Saturday.
AAP