Lachie Neale’s last-ditch attempt to play in the grand final has proved successful, with the appeals board downgrading his sanction to a $10,000 fine.
Two days after a mammoth four-hour hearing at the tribunal which found him guilty of striking Hawthorn’s Jack Ginnivan, Neale and the Lions fronted the appeal board in hopes to get his sanction cleared due to the small details that were absent in the ruling made on his case earlier this week.
Lachie Neale is free to play in Saturday’s grand final. AFL Photos
While the AFL brought new “sharper” footage to the board on Thursday, the vision was not eligible to be used. The AFL’s barrister delivered a 45-minute address to prove the organisation’s position to be correct.
But the short delivery proved not enough to uphold the decision, with Neale and the Lions celebrating his chance to compete for a third-straight premiership.
Lions official had little hope for Neale victory
Matthew Lloyd has revealed that he was in contact with a Lions official who was not overly confident that Neale would be cleared to play in the grand final.
“He said, ‘We are not hopeful at all’,” Lloyd revealed on Nine’s The Footy Show Grand Final Telethon.
“It was a decision that (the Lions) felt they had 15 per cent chance of getting off.”
The Essendon great believes the correct ruling was made on Thursday night, labelling the initial sanction as “too big a penalty to miss a grand final”.
Nathan Brown admitted he feels “there a different set of rules for grand finals” when incidents like Neale’s unfolded.
“I think this is good for footy,” Brown, a premiership winner himself, said.
“There will be people saying, ‘This is what we wanted to stamp out’ … He is the best player in the game over the last few years. We want the big name players there (at the grand final).
“There will be plenty of boos going on when he gets the football, but the game will be better for it.”
Gary Lyon described the entire hearing process as “utterly shambolic”, but agreed the “right decision was made”.
“A $10,000 fine is substantial, the whack (on Ginnivan) was stupid,” he said on AFL360.
“It is utterly shambolic to arrive at a decision that ultimately could have been arrived at had the vision been available on day one.”
Neale was overjoyed when he spoke to reporters. 9News
Neale ‘very happy’ with appeal board’s ruling
Neale could not wipe the smile off his face as he fronted the media shortly after learning his ban had been overturned.
The midfielder told reporters that he “wasn’t very hopeful or doubtful” when the video call began as he had never been in such a situation before.
“I’ve never been in this situation, so I wasn’t sure how it would play out,” he said.
“The (last couple of days) have been nerve-racking. Being in footy finals territory, I wasn’t sure what to do with myself.
“I am very happy with the appeal board’s decision. I am looking forward to playing the grand final now.
“I’ll definitely have a bit more pep in my step.”
Neale said he hoped the appeal board’s ruling would take “the attention” away from him and allow the team to prepare as usual.
He said he felt no pressure to prove to the AFL world that he was worthy of taking part in the grand final against Fremantle.
“I wouldn’t say I have a point to prove on Saturday,” he added.
“I just want to play my part. It will be a difficult challenge against Freo, but hopefully, we can get it done.”
Neale ended with a clear message about his reported trade to Collingwood.
“Who says it’s my last game for Brisbane?”
Then asked if he is not leaving, Neale replied: “I didn’t say that. We will wait and see what happens at the end of the year.”
Lachie Neale has been preparing for the grand final despite these hearings. Getty Images
Fremantle fan the first to congratulate Neale
While many would expect for Dockers fans to be frustrated by the outcome, one Fremantle had a surprising reaction when they were the first to see Neale after the verdict.
Shortly after Neale spoke with reporters, he walked with team officials towards a group of supporters who had been waiting for the result.
The first supporter to approach Neale was a Fremantle fan, who reached out to shake his hand before sharing a couple of words ahead of the grand final. Neale played 135 games for Fremantle before moving to the Lions in 2020.
“Congratulations. We will see you on Saturday,” the man said as he patted Neale’s back.
Neale had a smile on his face after hearing those words before he continued to walk away with team staffers.
Brisbane captain Harris Andrews said shortly after Neale’s encounter with the Dockers fan that the team was elated with the successful appeal.
“I’m very excited for him,” Andrews said on Nine’s The Footy Show Grand Final Telethon.
“It has been a very big week in the media for him. To get the result of him playing is unreal. He has been an integral part of our club for eight years … I am absolutely pumped for him.
“Now we can just focus on getting to work and be ready to go.”
How did the hearing play out?
The Lions fronted the appeal board with a case formed around whether the tribunal considered that Neale would miss the grand final if the ban was upheld.
The AFL, on the other hand, arrived at the video hearing with “sharper” new vision of the incident captured by Champion Data, which is conducting player tracking trials at the MCG. That footage was not available at the time of Tuesday’s tribunal hearing.
The new footage was set to all but dismiss the Lions’ argument that the original, grainy vision shown to the tribunal was not sufficient to prove if Neale did strike Hawthorn’s Jack Ginnivan or if he even had a closed fist when the pair collided.
Richard Loveridge, the board chair, ruled the new vision did not meet the guidelines required for the board to accept new evidence as part of Thursday’s hearing.
But even without the new vision, the AFL looked to have enough evidence to disprove the Lions’ case that the importance of missing a grand final was not considered by the tribunal.
Andrew Woods KC argued on behalf of the AFL that the Lions were relying on minor details from the tribunal’s comments on Tuesday.
He also reiterated Brisbane’s suggestion the tribunal would not have considered “everything it needs to”, including the importance of missing a grand final, was incorrect.
The appeal board only needed 20 minutes to determine that Neale’s punishment would be reduced to a $10,000 fine – an option the Lions had put forward as an alternative sanction – due to his perfect record of 320 games with no sanctions.
The decision means that Neale will play what many believe will be his last game for the Lions, amid reports he is looking to be traded to Collingwood.