Before the appeal was revealed, Robbie Neale told ABC Radio Adelaide in the lead-up to Saturday’s decider against Fremantle that he felt the suspension was “just plain wrong”.<\/p>\n
“[He’s played] 320 games, never been suspended,” he said.<\/p>\n
Why Neale’s grand final ban was upheld<\/a><\/p>\n The tribunal says it had reason not to overturn Lachie Neale’s appeal. Now the AFL world waits to hear whether the Lions will launch an appeal.<\/p>\n “I just think to miss the grand final for this, it just \u2026 I’ve followed footy for a long time [and] it just doesn’t add up to me.”<\/p>\n Before the appeal was confirmed, Robbie said Lachie would have been torn on whether to appeal and prolong the process in grand final week.<\/p>\n “Lachie won’t want the distraction for the team,” he said.<\/p>\n Neale was also the centre of attention leading up to last year’s grand final win over Geelong as he raced the clock to recover from a calf injury.<\/p>\n Neale was under an injury cloud heading into last year’s decider. (Getty Images: Matt Roberts)<\/p>\n He ultimately played only the second half, kicking a crucial long-range goal in the third quarter.<\/p>\n “This one [the suspension], we’re worried for him, because I know this means everything to him to play in this grand final,” Robbie said.<\/p>\n “Easy to say that he’s already played in a few, but they’ve got a chance to create history here.”<\/p>\n The two-time Brownlow medallist has been in the headlines a lot this year, including giving up the captaincy before the season following a widely publicised marriage breakdown<\/a>.<\/p>\n![\"Lachie](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/0d32dc1ff42bb97be09692c7c3a3f9ea.jpeg\")
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