{"id":901457,"date":"2026-09-22T16:10:13","date_gmt":"2026-09-22T16:10:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/901457\/"},"modified":"2026-09-22T16:10:13","modified_gmt":"2026-09-22T16:10:13","slug":"afl-2026-lachie-neales-last-hope-to-play-in-grand-final-after-marathon-tribunal-hearing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/901457\/","title":{"rendered":"AFL 2026: Lachie Neale\u2019s \u2018last hope\u2019 to play in grand final after marathon tribunal hearing"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lachie Neale will miss Saturday\u2019s AFL Grand Final after his one-game suspension was upheld after a marathon hearing at the AFL Tribunal on Tuesday night. <\/p>\n

The Brisbane Lions midfielder was handed a one-match suspension for a gut punch on Hawthorn\u2019s Jack Ginnivan off the ball during the preliminary final, which Brisbane appealed.<\/p>\n

Get the expert take on AFL Grand Final Day with FOX FOOTY\u2019s pre-match, half-time and post-match coverage, plus full and mini replays available from 6PM AEST on Kayo Sports |New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n

Neale gave evidence claiming it was a \u201cbody check\u201d instead of a strike, but after a hearing that lasted more than four-and-a-half hours including two hours of deliberation, the Tribunal upheld the striking ban.<\/p>\n

\"Lachie<\/p>\n

The Lions star joins a short list of players who have missed a grand final due to suspension. <\/p>\n

The 33-year-old has now likely played his final game for Brisbane with an off-season move to Collingwood seen as a certainty for the two-time Brownlow Medallist. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s likely not the end of the saga, with Brisbane certain to appeal the decision again at the AFL Appeals Board later in the week. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s a brutal blow for Neale, who will miss out on the chance to play in a premiership three-peat in what would have been his final game for Brisbane. <\/p>\n

Recap the Tribunal\u2019s findings below.<\/p>\n

Originally published as Lachie Neale AFL Tribunal hearing: Lions star\u2019s \u2018last hope\u2019 after \u2018harsh\u2019 verdict<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lachie Neale will miss Saturday\u2019s AFL Grand Final after his one-game suspension was upheld after a marathon hearing…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":901458,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[469987,459672,395828,390818,469981,469990,469988,457993,469971,465606,469978,440893,469991,469994,459273,469972,425226,638,469985,469974,469969,64,63,55,639,651,10990,469983,1116,1127,469975,469986,469982,469993,6854,469984,435721,469989,8401,469977,62756,377208,25875,469968,393671,469980,277557,349884,35062,7820,46907,85,26605,385554,469992,458581,403219,377205,469995,376941,378533,215379,378210,469979,7709,460256,396586,469970,407518,400049,469973,98734,28333,393721,8935,469976,377211],"class_list":["post-901457","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-s-last-hope","tag-s-afl-grand-final","tag-s-findings","tag-s-jack-ginnivan","tag-s-pre-match","tag-6pm-aest","tag-a-body-check","tag-a-brutal-blow","tag-a-certainty","tag-a-grand-final","tag-a-gut-punch","tag-a-hearing","tag-a-marathon-hearing","tag-a-one-match-suspension","tag-a-premiership-three-peat","tag-a-short-list","tag-a-strike","tag-afl","tag-afl-grand-final-day","tag-an-off-season-move","tag-another-twist","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-brisbane","tag-collingwood","tag-deliberation","tag-evidence","tag-fox-footy","tag-full-and-mini-replays","tag-gf-ban","tag-half-time-and-post-match-coverage","tag-harsh-verdict","tag-hawthorn","tag-his-last-hope","tag-his-final-game","tag-his-one-game-suspension","tag-jack-ginnivan","tag-just-1-neale","tag-kayo","tag-kayo-sports-new","tag-lachie-neale","tag-lachie-neale-afl-tribunal-hearing","tag-lions-star","tag-more-than-four-and-a-half-hours","tag-ncaeditorialkayoprogram","tag-neale","tag-night","tag-players","tag-saturday","tag-sports","tag-suspension","tag-the-33-year-old","tag-the-afl-appeals-board","tag-the-afl-grand-final","tag-the-afl-tribunal","tag-the-ball","tag-the-brisbane-lions-midfielder","tag-the-chance","tag-the-decision","tag-the-end","tag-the-expert","tag-the-hawks-the-lions-star","tag-the-lions","tag-the-preliminary-final","tag-the-saga","tag-the-striking-ban-lachie-neale","tag-the-tale","tag-the-tribunal","tag-the-two-time-brownlow-medallist","tag-the-week","tag-tuesday","tag-two-hours","tag-win","tag-wrong-decision","tag-your-first-month"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901457","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=901457"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/901457\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/901458"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=901457"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=901457"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=901457"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}