An outsized focus on Lachie Neale had become the new norm at the Brisbane Lions in 2026.
asserted
focus → become → 2026
Not only was he in the centre circle when the heat was on, as he had been ever since starting with the Dockers in 2013, he was suddenly the central character in a sporting drama – attracting tabloid headlines to gossip columns to trade speculation.
So, when the news came through he had been suspended for the grand final for punching Hawthorn’s Jack Ginnivan in the guts, there was surprise, but no panic.
Football boss Danny Daly went to work to try to clear him, while also arranging contingency plans to send the dual Brownlow medallist to Naracoorte in South Australia to be with his dad Robbie if Thursday’s appeal failed.
But Neale didn’t need to implement those plans after all – the appeals board overturning the suspension, allowing him to play in his fifth grand final.
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him → start → final
The lead-up, plus his status as a former Docker, meant Neale was always going to be the villain on grand final day.
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Neale → mean → day
For the sort of people who indulge in booing, it was a matter of picking their reason.
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it → indulge → reason
Those boos rang out loud and clear as soon as Neale entered the arena at the nine-minute mark after starting the third of his five grand finals on the bench.
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Neale → ring → bench
He didn’t care.
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He → care → ?
“I don’t give a shit about that, whatever,” he said.
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he → give → that
“I used to play for them as well, which probably added to it.
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which → use → it
“It’s part of the game – honestly it doesn’t bother me.”
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it → ’ → me
Neale didn’t take over like he did in the second half the previous year, when he came on at half-time as the “super-sub” when the scores were level, finishing the match with 17 touches in a half.
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scores → take → half
On this occasion, his hands were quick when the ball was in his vicinity, and his mind was willing, but his Dockers opponents were able to find too much space at centre bounces and dominated.
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opponents → find → bounces
But the clearances had been few and far between when the Dockers opened up what looked like a matchwinning 17-point lead with less than five minutes remaining and with Neale sitting on the pine.
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Neale → open → pine
“Wharfie Time” then made the MCG erupt as Neale rose to his 177-centimetre height and took a breath.
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Neale → make → breath
He joined Will Ashcroft, Josh Dunkley and Sam Draper in the middle to see if they could pull off the biggest heist in grand final history.
uncertain
they → join → history
He said they had planned for “Wharfie Time” to be “go time”.
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Time → say → ?
“The mentality to switch that, and it be ‘go time’ for us, was important,” Neale said.
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Neale → switch → us
“‘Fages’ once described us as cockroaches – we just don’t die.”
Neale won the first touch and Ashcroft rose with him.
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Ashcroft → describe → him
It was his career at the Lions writ large as he lifted them off the canvas after joining the club back in 2019.
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he → writ → 2019
He won’t be there next season, confirming post-match that this was his last game for the Lions.
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this → confirm → Lions
“I’ve loved my time at this club, they are an exceptional club,” he told Seven before his expected move to Collingwood in the coming weeks.
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he → love → weeks
I love this group, [and] I’m going to miss them every much.”
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I → love → them
Neale’s teammates knew what he had given them, with Ashcroft saying, “I love him so much”, while Jarrod Berry admitted so much attention being on Neale wasn’t a bad thing for his teammates.
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being → know → teammates
“Unfortunately, I have had experience in compartmentalising things and getting on with the job,” Neale said.
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Neale → have → job
With 20 touches and a third consecutive premiership medal, his job was done.
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job → do → touches
He hugged his dad and kissed his new girlfriend, Emma Field, and stood with a can of beer in his hand.
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He → hug → hand
“In a weird way, it’s a strength of mine – my resilience on the field and off the field,” Neale explained.
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Neale → ’ → field
I have won my third premiership at an amazing organisation, so I can’t really complain.
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I → win → organisation
“I have just got to get on with the job and try to be better as a human, and as a footballer.”
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I → get → footballer
There was no room for pride, he said, but he had kept at it as the Lions asked him to when all was exploding around him.
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all → be → him
Club president Andrew Wellington could only praise Neale, and the rest of the club, for how they prevailed in such circumstances.
uncertain
they → praise → circumstances
“There is always risk, when you have got a bit of turmoil, that it can affect [you] ... but credit to all the leaders, including Lachie, that they did not let that disturb what they were trying to do,” Wellington said.
“Everyone just asked him, [that] as long as he is with us, he gives us everything, and he has done that.
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he → be → that
Get around our AFL finals coverage
- Norm Smith medallist: Bolton surprised at his honour
- Four minutes that turned the grand final: Analysis by Andrew Wu
-
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that → get → Wu
Player ratings: Who starred and who shrunk in the spotlight
Keep up to date with the best AFL coverage in the country.
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who → star → country
Continue this series
AFL grand final 2026Up next
Patrick Voss, almost more than any other Fremantle player on the day, typified the vast contrast between winning and losing.
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Voss → continue → winning
Late on Saturday afternoon, he became the unexpected shoulder of comfort amid a flood of Dockers despair.
asserted
he → become → despair
Grand final hero Logan Morris played through a stress fracture in his back and barely trained in recent months as he became the first AFL footballer to win a premiership in each of his first three seasons.
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he → play → seasons
Previously
- Updated
When an AFL official walked up to Shai Bolton on the MCG as he watched the Brisbane Lions celebrate and told him he’d won the Norm Smith Medal, he was taken aback.
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he → update → Medal
The Aporia
