Brisbane Lions star Lachie Neale is determined to prove he made the right call in declaring himself fit for the AFL grand final against Geelong.
The dual Brownlow Medal winner will make a remarkable return for his fourth premiership decider, just 22 days after hurting his calf in the qualifying final loss to the Cats.
However, there has been a late twist, with 7 News Melbourne’s Mitch Cleary reporting that the 32-year old will be the Lions’ sub for the match, with semi and preliminary final sub Bruce Reville to start in the 22.
Neale was last sub while playing for Fremantle in Round 1, 2014, his 24th AFL game – some 269 matches ago.
In a remarkable coincidence, he was also the sub for the Dockers’ 2013 grand final loss to Hawthorn, making him the first player to be named as substitute for two different grand finals.
Teams will officially be named at 1:30pm (AEST). Jhye Clark is expected to be Geelong’s sub, having performed the role in the qualifying and preliminary finals.
Initial scans had him sidelined for six weeks, with Neale himself believing his season was over.
“I look like a bit of a goose,” Neale said.
“I put an Instagram post up saying my season was done, and poor me, and now it looks a bit silly.
“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.
In his first grand final back in 2013, Neale was the starting sub in Fremantle’s loss against Hawthorn.
Lachie Neale handballs while being tackled by Ryley Sanders and Adam Treloar. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
Neale hasn’t started as the sub since round one, 2014.
The 32-year-old had already proven his fitness with a big session last Saturday, then during further training on Tuesday and Thursday.
Neale 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 Chris Fagan he was right to go at Thursday’s main training session, Berry selflessly made the call to pull out of contention for the premiership decider.
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.”
(with AAP)
