Hawthorn legend Luke Hodge has explained how Geelong should test out Lachie Neale’s troublesome right calf in Saturday’s AFL grand final, following reports the Brisbane Lions superstar is set to make a miraculous comeback. Neale hurt his calf in the qualifying final defeat to Geelong on September 5, with the Lions initially ruling him out for the rest of the season after deeming it to be at least a four-week injury.
But the dual Brownlow Medallist has been doing everything in his power to get back on the park, and trained strongly on Tuesday before the Brisbane squad flew down to Melbourne on Wednesday. Neale kicked at goals, fielded ground balls and twisted and turned in traffic. It came after Neale got through a tough running session last Saturday, before declaring that he was on track for a shock grand final comeback.
AFL great Luke Hodge has explained how Geelong should target Lions star Lachie Neale and his troublesome right calf in Saturday’s grand final. Pic: Getty
And speaking on Seven’s The Agenda Setters on Tuesday night, leading AFL journalist Caroline Wilson reported that ‘Brisbane have decided to play Lachie Neale’ against the Cats on Saturday. “As we sit here tonight, the only question mark is over whether he starts in the 22 or whether he is a sub,” Wilson explained.
“He will replace Jarrod Berry in the 23 who won’t play with that shoulder injury which is most unfortunate. So it’s one game in 56 days he’s played up until Saturday. He gave himself a one percent chance after he injured his calf in the qualifying final and of course he hurt his quad three or four weeks earlier in round 22 against Collingwood… so an extraordinary development, a massive risk.”
Wilson’s remarks echoed the opinion of fellow panelist Kane Cornes, who described Neale’s inclusion as ‘the biggest grand final selection risk we’ve ever seen’. Cornes said the injury to Scott Pendlebury in Collingwood’s preliminary final loss to Brisbane – that saw the veteran subbed off with a calf complaint after four minutes – should have served as major warning to the Lions.
AFL pundit Kane Cornes described it as ‘ridiculous’ for Brisbane to even consider playing Lachie Neale in the grand final against Geelong. Pic: Getty
Hawthorn legend Hodge agreed that picking Neale was a massive gamble and questioned whether it came down to Brisbane’s inability to cover the midfield star’s absence. “I think what they’ve got to look at is their depth,” Hodge said. “So you look through a lot of teams in these situations. They’ve got three or four experienced blokes they’d be able to bring in.
“The depth for the Brisbane Lions, they’ve got so many injuries… Conor McKenna came back from a hamstring. Shadeau Brain’s young and developing. Darragh Joyce … Jimmy Tunstall’s probably been the one who has been in for that sub at times over the last few weeks. But you sort of sit back and go, ‘do you go with one of these younger guys or do you go with a two-time Brownlow Medallist knowing that he won’t be overawed on the big occasion?’”
Luke Hodge reveals how Cats should target Lachie Neale
The four-time premiership Hawks legend went on to explain how the Cats should target Neale, and employ a devious tactic to test out his right calf. Hodge said by having a Geelong player permanently stationed on the left side of Neale, it would force the Lions superstar to push off his troublesome left side.
“If I was Geelong, I would attack him,” Hodge declared. “I’d bring in Rhys Stanley as a ruck and I’d send Mark Blicavs straight to him. I’d be getting him to stand on the left side of Lachie and push him onto that right calf at every stoppage I can and then (sprint) hard forward to see if he can push.”
Hodge argued that Neale’s lack of match fitness due to recent injuries meant the best option for Brisbane coach Chris Fagan was to use him as a sub against Geelong. “With one game in 56 days, it’s a massive risk (starting Neale),” he said. “It’s not just passing the fitness test to make sure that he’s OK. It’s playing 120 minutes of two-way defence, offensive football against a midfield who work hard forward.”