Another Victorian AFL club has entered the race to sign Lachie Neale from Brisbane.
The 33-year-old is out of contract at the end of the season and is expected to leave the Lions, with Collingwood believed to be the favourites to sign the two-time Brownlow medallist. Neale has also been linked to both WA clubs given his family circumstances.
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It’s now been reported St Kilda is in the mix for Neale — coach Ross Lyon and general manager of football Lenny Hayes will meet with Neale this week. Neale played under Lyon during his time at Fremantle earlier in his career.
“It’s my understanding Neale is expected to sit down with Saints coach and his former Fremantle mentor, Ross Lyon, this weekend,” reporter Mitch Cleary told 7NEWS.
“Neale is in Victoria to play Geelong on Thursday night and right now his future is a hot topic.”
St Kilda went shopping in last year’s trade period, signing Tom De Koning, Jack Silvagni, Sam Flanders and Liam Ryan on long-term deals, as well as extending Nasiah Wanganeen-Milera on a $2 million deal.
“The Saints are clearly in the ‘win now’ mindset as they attempt to bolster their list,” Cleary said.
On Seven’s Agenda Setters, Dale Thomas asked “So this is a formal pitch?” to which veteran reporter Caroline Wilson replied: “Absolutely.”
“Definitely the footy boss Lenny Hayes and Ross Lyon are going to be meeting with Lachie Neale.
“Collingwood have been the frontrunners here in terms of Victorian teams, … but my view is that St Kilda are very much in the frame.
“There is some cynicism about whether it is true that the 33-year-old has been offered a three-year, $3 million deal from Collingwood, or whether that’s just hearsay.
“St Kilda have space, whether or not Rowan Marshall leaves the club for greener rucking pastures ”
“The Pies are super keen and the Lions are resigned to seeing him playing elsewhere next season,” Cleary said.
Lachie Neale set for ‘biggest contract of career’
Neale is expected to sign a three-year deal at his next club worth around $1 million per season.
“The weirdest part of this is he’s looking at the biggest contract of his career,” Gerard Whateley said on AFL 360 on Kayo Sports.
“Whether he’s got three years left in him, he’s going to get three years and the first two are going to be the most lucrative of his career wherever he goes.”
Neale and Zac Bailey are out of contract and Brisbane coach Chris Fagan said this week players moving clubs was “fact of life”.
“At the end of the day, the way football is now, players move. We don’t like it when they move, but it’s a fact of life,” Fagan said on AFL 360.
“The main thing is, whether they stay or go, as long as they continue to play and give the best they’ve got each week, that’s all you can ask for.
“In the case of Zac and Lachie, that’s what we’re getting at the moment.
“No doubt this will all unfold. I may need to get involved at some point in time down the track.
“But for now, the focus is just them, their footy and performance and helping them with whatever else they need help with in their lives.
“I probably haven’t had a lot of conversations with Zac at this point in time. His form has been really good, so that’s my major concern as the coach,” Fagan said.
“Lachie, there’s probably been a few more conversations, because there’s a bit more involved in what Lachie’s future holds.
“Sometimes he needs a bit of advice and a bit of help, so I tend to have conversations with him.”
On AFL 360 Leigh Montagna urged Fagan and the Lions to lean into a “last dance” mentality to help Brisbane claim a premiership three-peat before losing Neale and Bailey to rival clubs.
“I would like to see Chris Fagan as fuel, almost use it as the last dance scenario,” Montagna said.
“We are losing two elite players, they are two of the best players in the competition. It is going to be a challenge.
“I just wonder if they can lean in on two of the best players leaving at the end of the year and say, ‘Let’s just do it one more time. Let’s make this the last dance’.”
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