Lachie Neale made national headlines during his drama-charged press conference on Friday, but one bombshell detail has been largely overlooked.
The Brisbane Lions midfielder confirmed he has separated from wife Jules after she posted on Instagram last month she had been “betrayed in the most unimaginable way”.
Jules has since fallen out with former friend Tess Crosley and has wiped all photos of her and Lachie from her Instagram page.
While Neale insisted he would not respond to questions about his personal life as he faced reporters for the first time after standing down as co-captain, the dual Brownlow medallist made an eyebrow-raising comment about his future.
Neale on two occasions sidestepped opportunities to guarantee he wants to remain with the Lions beyond the 2026 season.
Neale is contracted until the end of this year and will be one of the hottest free agents on the AFL market, despite turning 33 in May.
Rumours of a possible return to Western Australia have swirled in recent months despite his manager in September attempting to squash speculation Neale would consider a move back to WA where Jules’ family lives.
When asked if his future remains in Brisbane, Neale responded by saying: “Yeah, I’m going to be here for this season coming up and I’m fully committed to putting everything I can into footy and I can’t wait to get into training and I’m looking forward to it”.
When asked about his future a second time, Neale responded: “I haven’t really considered that yet.
“I think my decision was always going to be put on hold with my contract regardless so we will work that out in the next six months.”
Neale is only five games short of reaching the 300-game milestone.
Rumours swirled before the Lions’ 2025 Grand Final triumph that West Coast is planning to make a play to bring Neale back to Perth, where he played 135 games for Fremantle from 2012-18.
However, his manager, Tim Lawrence of TGI Sport, told Code Sports at the time there was “absolutely nothing to it”.
According to the report, Neale has always planned to put together a strong pre-season before getting into talks about a contract extension with the Lions.
The two-time premiership captain will not be in the Lions’ official leadership group when he returns for pre-season training next week.
Neale was at times visible emotional when announcing his decision to stand down as captain during Friday’s press conference.
“I understand the interest in my personal life, but these are personal matters and I won’t be answering any questions on that topic today,” he said.
“I can confirm though with regret that Jules and I have now separated.
“While I won’t go into specifics I can say that I have let my family down and I apologise for my actions that have let done those that are closest to me. And for that I am deeply sorry.
“I accept the consequences of my actions, and I need to focus on rebuilding that trust with Jules as the future wellbeing of our children remain our No. 1 priority.”
When asked bluntly if he had cheated on his wife, Neale responded: “No I can’t address those rumours”.
He answered another question by saying he has “regrets” about his personal life.
When asked if he is hoping to fix his marriage, Neale walked off by saying, “I won’t comment on that, thank you”.
He looked briefly overcome with emotion when explaining his decision to step down as captain.
“I’m extremely disappointed in myself and I’ve put plans in place to do the work on myself so I can be the best version of myself moving forward,” he said.
“Given the personal matters that I am currently working through I have made the decision to stand down as co-captain and from the leadership group effective immediately.
“Being the captain of the Lions has been a huge honour, but it’s time to move forward with a fresh start. I spoke through this with the club over the last week or two and it was a pretty easy decision for me.
“Time to move on and let someone else or Harris (Andrews) do the job by himself.”
He said the decision was “100 per cent” his and that he had not been pressured to give up the position.
He said he spoke with Lions coach Chris Fagan and Lions football boss Danny Daly before making the call.
Daly said in a club statement Neale will remain an important part in the club’s future.
“We acknowledge Lachie’s decision to step down as Co-Captain and from the leadership group. Being a captain of the Brisbane Lions comes with a high level of expectation and commitment to uphold our Club values and lead by example.” Daly said.
“We thank Lachie for his contribution as a leader of our club for the past three seasons during a highly successful period and look forward to Lachie remaining an important part of our Club in the future.
“Our priority as a football Club is to always support our people and their families. We’ve been doing this privately with both Lachie and Jules during this difficult time.”