A phone call from Mr Neale…
The big question surrounding AFL star Lachie Neale’s press conference on Friday was whether he went out to face the music of his own free will or was pressured into doing so by the powers that be. I suspect it was the former – here’s why.
It was a few years ago now – back when I was still working in TV – that I first heard that Neale closely monitored his own headlines.
A phone call had come through to the network from the Brisbane Lions. Apparently Lachie wasn’t best pleased with comments made by decorated Essendon goalkicker Matthew Lloyd, one of the stars of The Sunday Footy Show.Â
At this stage, Neale was yet to win two premierships, two Brownlow medals and cement his place as one of the greats of the game.
Soon after the message from the Lions, a phone call was organised between the two men. I’m told they spoke directly, finishing the conversation on good terms.
This anecdote underscores two truths: Neale’s long‑standing sensitivity to his press coverage – and his eagerness to shape it – and the fact that even the trickiest of relationships can be salvaged.
Sadly, in Neale’s case, the latter doesn’t extend to his marriage.Â
Jules and Lachie Neale (pictured together at the 2025 Brownlow Medal) made headlines throughout the Christmas break as their marriage publicly imploded
Lachie Neale admitted at a press conference that he’d ‘let his family down’
By now, we all know that Neale’s off-field life is in crisis, having separated from his wife Jules in quite the headline-grabbing fashion.
Footy heads have been screaming ‘leave Lachie alone’. You know the type – fans who moralise about players’ private lives being none of our business while obsessively reading every article and Reddit thread about their indiscretions.
In this case, they have conveniently forgotten it was Neale’s wife who wanted to explain the nature of their split, loud and clear.
‘I am not “working through” anything. I have been betrayed in the most unimaginable way,’ she wrote in the social media post that immediately kicked the rumour mill into overdrive, eventually nudging her former best friend Tess Crosley into the spotlight.Â
In response, Lachie called his Friday press conference to resign the co-captaincy.Â
To put the sheer enormity of this scandal into perspective, when Neale won his second Brownlow Medal in 2024, 1.3 million people watched on TV.
The seven-minute press conference in which he apologised and admitted he had ‘let his family down’Â drew a far bigger audience across dozens of platforms.
I was asked this week whether the AFL would have pressured Lachie to speak publicly about the end of his marriage, but league sources tell me it’s highly unlikely that AFL House would get directly involved in the Neale case.
After the breakdown of her marriage – Jules (right) asked her former friend Tess Crosley (left) to delete this Instagram photo of the two couples after Brisbane’s AFL grand final victory
While the Lions would almost certainly have had enquiries from stakeholders about how the club’s (then) co-captain intended to deal with all the attention, the decision to front the press would have ultimately been Lachie’s.
Personally, I suspect his strategy was to draw attention away from Jules’s extraordinary public statements and move the story on. Fair enough.Â
It also would have put Lachie back in his comfort zone, addressing the scandal from the football side of things, albeit with an apology thrown in that acknowledged wrongdoing while keeping the details comfortably vague.
As the scandal reached fever pitch, I spoke to Lachie Neale’s manager Tom Petroro earlier this week.Â
It wasn’t a conversation we can publish, but as you might imagine, Petroro – a man known for going as hard as he can for his clients – firmly defended Lachie.
In October, he inadvertently became the story as he tried to engineer a trade to move Essendon captain Zach Merrett to Hawthorn.
It never materialised, but footage of Petroro stomping around Hawthorn’s temporary trade office went viral.
Petroro’s summer hasn’t got any easier since then – not only is he Neale’s manager, he also looks after the affairs of Jack Silvagni, the St Kilda player whose brother Tom was recently jailed for rape.
I don’t envy him.Â
‘The enemy is behind you’
Perhaps tennis pro-turned-MP Sam Groth isn’t familiar with the political adage: ‘The opposition is in front of you, but the enemy is behind you.’ If he had, it might have spared him some pain.
Earlier this week, the member for Nepean announced he wouldn’t contest the next Victorian election, stepping back after three years in Parliament. He did so to put his family first – and I don’t dispute this was his main reason.
The decision also came after Groth won a high-profile defamation settlement – and he believes certain Liberal colleagues were behind the false story that sparked it.
He said as much in his departing statement: ‘The public pressure placed on my family in recent months has been significant, and realising that some of it came from within my own party has been difficult to ignore.’
Meanwhile, I’ve heard from political sources that Groth feels stabbed in the back by his own party after lending his hard‑won celebrity to the cause.
Sam Groth (pictured with wife Brittany) has announced he won’t contest the next Victorian election – and has cited recent pressures on his family as one of his reasons for stepping back
But the disappointment goes both ways.
Some Liberal MPs say Groth was handed ample opportunities and goodwill, but nonetheless faced a steep learning curve in politics and felt like a fish out of water as an MP.Â
The married father of two was also known to complain about the lack of work-life balance – a legitimate gripe in public life, certainly, though Groth’s electorate office in Rye is about an hour from Parliament, a standard commute for many constituents.
One might argue that potential candidates should factor that in before standing for election. After all, there’s always someone else eager to run.
Groth first served up his political ambitions in February 2022 at a Trump-style Liberal rally in Geelong, hosted by then-leader Matthew Guy.
At the time, Groth was my Channel Nine colleague and we’d chat in the make-up chair before presenting the Australian Open together. I recall him complaining more than once about the Victorian government’s heavy-handed COVID response.
Soon after, he was pre-selected as the Liberal candidate for Nepean, in Melbourne’s coveted Mornington Peninsula seat.
The party rarely goes in for celebrity candidates, but I’m told branch members ‘bent over backwards’ to push him through.
In 2024, Groth’s ambitions grew – he announced a desire to become state premier. It was bold for a first-term MP and raised eyebrows, but not as many as his decision to walk away this week.
Colleagues are surprised at the timing: Groth is dropping out in an election year, just as leader Jess Wilson builds momentum.
And just yesterday, he agreed to give up the deputy leadership – perhaps in response to frustration within the party that he didn’t immediately stand down when he announced his resignation.
This columnist suspects David Southwick or James Newbury will be deputy leader by polling day.
Southwick has done the job before. He’s also the member for the heavily Jewish community of Caulfield and, with the Bondi tragedy likely to dominate debate, is seen as a major asset.
First ladies of rock Â
If you’re lucky enough to score a dinner party invitation in Melbourne, Gaynor Wheatley and Sue Gudinski are two guests you’ll never forget.
Between them, they seem to know everyone and everything that matters in the city’s music and entertainment scene.
Their late husbands – Glenn Wheatley and Michael Gudinski – are legends: arguably the two most influential business figures in Australian rock. Michael built Mushroom Records, signing icons like Kylie Minogue, Jimmy Barnes and Skyhooks. Glenn was the driving force behind John Farnham, the GOAT of Aussie music.
Yet behind these legendary careers stood two remarkable women. Sue kept Michael grounded throughout their 40 years together, while Gaynor – herself a former TV star – was Glenn’s sharp showbiz advisor and confidante.
Gaynor Wheatley lost her husband Glenn in February 2022. She is now living with another rock widow in trendy South Yarra
Sue Gudinski is living with Gaynor Wheatley in a ‘sisterhood pad’ after they both lost their husbands. (Sue and Michael Gudinski, who died in March 2021, are pictured in November 2019)
Within 12 months, both families suffered unimaginable loss. Glenn and Michael, pillars of the industry, were gone. Gudinski died in March 2021, while we lost Wheatley in February the following year.Â
Both men were farewelled with a torrent of tributes. But as life slowly moved on, their widows grew closer, leaning into the friendship that sustained them.
Costello’s Melbourne can reveal the pair are now housemates, having settled into a ‘sisterhood pad’ in trendy South Yarra. They offer each other support and understanding – whether it’s personal milestones or ambitious new projects.
Next year, Gaynor will produce ‘Whispering Jack: The John Farnham Musical’, bringing to the stage the story of how John and Glenn shattered records with the iconic album. The show is set to open in Sydney in November.
Duncan’s send-off
I don’t think I ever saw TV and radio presenter Duncan McKenzie-McHarg without a smile on his face. He was endlessly entertaining, but my favourite ‘bit’ was his pitch-perfect Eddie McGuire impersonation – still the best I’ve ever heard.
The impression was especially meaningful because McGuire was a mentor to us both.
Duncan presented sport on Triple M’s Hot Breakfast, and a few years later, I stepped into the same role. By then, Duncan had moved to America.
When the news of Duncan’s death in Los Angeles reached us just before Christmas, it was McGuire who called to tell me. We shared our disbelief and sadness: Duncan was gone far too soon.
I never saw TV and radio presenter Duncan McKenzie-McHarg without a smile on his face
He was endlessly entertaining, but my favourite ‘bit’ was his pitch-perfect Eddie McGuire impersonation – still the best I’ve ever heard. (McGuire is pictured with Duncan)
Next month, friends and family will gather at the MCG – the only venue truly big enough to match Duncan’s larger-than-life personality – for a ‘celebration of life’ in honour of the 41-year-old broadcaster.
The last celebration I attended for Duncan was his 30th birthday – a night that’s impossible to forget. The party spilled onto the family’s tennis court, which had been transformed with a platform and DJ booth. Guests wondered if Calvin Harris had been flown in for the occasion.
As the floodlights dimmed and focus shifted to the booth, Duncan appeared, marching up the stairs with double fistfuls of glowsticks. He threw them into the crowd, announcing he would perform his own special set. It was hilarious, kooky and unforgettable – a perfect reflection of his unique spirit.
Duncan entertained us brilliantly that night, just as he did for thousands across his career.
Rest in peace, DJ Duncan McKenzie-McHarg.
Follow Seb Costello on Instagram at @costellosmelbourne
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