{"id":513933,"date":"2026-03-02T13:25:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T13:25:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/513933\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T13:25:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T13:25:16","slug":"lachie-neale-free-agency-preference-brisbane-lions-links-to-wa-and-fremantle-dockers-latest-trade-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/513933\/","title":{"rendered":"Lachie Neale free agency preference, Brisbane Lions, links to WA and Fremantle Dockers, latest trade news"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lachie Neale\u2019s \u201cpreferred outcome\u201d is reportedly to reject free agency and remain at Brisbane. <\/p>\n

That\u2019s according to Herald Sun and Fox Footy reporter Jon Ralph, who explained on Monday night that both Neale and the Lions are \u201cvery much trying to make it work\u201d amid complicated off-field dynamics. <\/p>\n

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The dual Brownlow medallist, 32, comes out of contract at Brisbane this year and is eligible for free agency. <\/p>\n

However, while many believe the superstar midfielder will carefully consider rival overtures this October, Ralph reports the \u201caccepted wisdom\u201d might not be the way it ultimately plays out. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe accepted wisdom is that he will play out the season, he\u2019ll jump on a plane, and he\u2019ll be playing for a WA-based club next season,\u201d Ralph began on Fox Footy\u2019s On the Couch. <\/p>\n

\u201cI can tell you tonight that Neale\u2019s preferred outcome is very much playing at this football club next season.<\/p>\n

Scott refuses to dwell on, or review GF | 02:26<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will require a supreme juggling act, it will require him to, of course, see his kids across this season \u2014 that\u2019s going to be challenging \u2014 but Brisbane and Neale are very much trying to make it work until the end of the season, after his marriage break-up. <\/p>\n

\u201cSo, he\u2019ll spend time with his daughter across the next couple of weeks, he\u2019ll spend the Round 2 bye in Perth, there\u2019s a nine-day break after Gather Round \u2014 so, there are possibilities there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Neale stood down from Brisbane\u2019s co-captaincy after back-to-back years leading the Lions to premierships, following a public marriage collapse with wife Jules<\/a>, who has since relocated to Perth with their two young children. <\/p>\n

Brisbane coach Chris Fagan said this off-season that he and the club wouldn\u2019t begrudge Neale if he exercised his free agency rights, remarking: \u201cWe\u2019re not going to hold anyone to ransom.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n

How will Grundy’s “stooging” be ruled on | 01:14<\/p>\n

In recent days, Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir admitted \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say I wouldn\u2019t entertain it\u201d<\/a> when probed on the Dockers\u2019 potential pursuit of a Neale reunion. <\/p>\n

The 294-gamer Glenelg product played his first 135 AFL matches at Fremantle before seeking a move to Queensland at the end of the 2018 season. <\/p>\n

\u201cBrisbane has told him that they will make it effortless for him to play with a WA-based side next year if that\u2019s what he wants,\u201d Ralph continued on Fox Footy. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt was Neale who actually approached his old club, Fremantle, at the end of 2021 when he was considering coming back \u2014 he was the one that approached them. <\/p>\n

\u201cCertainly, it did not end on fantastic terms with that football club, but they\u2019re aware of the fact that he is a potential candidate for them next year. West Coast would likely blow them out of the water with a superior financial offer. <\/p>\n

\u201cRight now, all options open \u2014 staying, going, even potentially retiring. But until he\u2019s shown that the current situation can\u2019t work, I think he is still really open to staying with Brisbane next year.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lachie Neale\u2019s \u201cpreferred outcome\u201d is reportedly to reject free agency and remain at Brisbane. That\u2019s according to Herald…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":513934,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[24777,257138,638,257140,257142,17993,3486,64,63,689,55,639,651,3237,3244,12923,257136,1119,10124,2105,60462,681,43039,10400,25875,257143,677,46,257141,701,257139,85,257137,11236,3439],"class_list":{"0":"post-513933","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-afl","8":"tag-aami-community","9":"tag-accepted-wisdom","10":"tag-afl","11":"tag-agency-call-looms","12":"tag-agency-preference","13":"tag-agency-rights","14":"tag-albert-perez","15":"tag-au","16":"tag-australia","17":"tag-australia-and-new-zealand","18":"tag-australian-football-league","19":"tag-australianfootballleague","20":"tag-brisbane","21":"tag-brisbane-lions","22":"tag-chris-fagan","23":"tag-chris-scott","24":"tag-family-pull","25":"tag-football-club","26":"tag-fremantle-dockers","27":"tag-getty-images-inc","28":"tag-grand-final-loss","29":"tag-jon-ralph","30":"tag-jules","31":"tag-justin-longmuir","32":"tag-lachie-neale","33":"tag-marriage-break-up","34":"tag-oceania","35":"tag-perth","36":"tag-preferred-outcome","37":"tag-queensland","38":"tag-ruck-changes","39":"tag-sports","40":"tag-supreme-juggling","41":"tag-trade-news","42":"tag-western-australia"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513933","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=513933"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/513933\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/513934"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=513933"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=513933"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=513933"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}