{"id":908247,"date":"2026-09-28T06:34:15","date_gmt":"2026-09-28T06:34:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/908247\/"},"modified":"2026-09-28T06:34:15","modified_gmt":"2026-09-28T06:34:15","slug":"lachie-neale-put-on-blast-for-comments-made-during-interview-after-brisbanes-grand-final-win-over-fremantle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/908247\/","title":{"rendered":"Lachie Neale put on blast for comments made during interview after Brisbane’s grand final win over Fremantle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Lachie Neale\u2019s controversial grand final week has extended beyond the final siren as he faces fresh criticism over comments he made after Brisbane\u2019s dramatic win against Fremantle.<\/p>\n

Neale\u2019s grand final appearance was plagued with controversy from the get-go after he successfully appealed for his one-match ban for gut-punching Hawk Jack Ginnivan to be overturned.<\/p>\n

After initially losing his case at tribunal, Neale submitted his case to the AFL appeals board, which downgraded the ban to a $10,000 fine on the grounds of \u201cexceptional and compelling circumstances\u201d.<\/p>\n

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The call caused an uproar among fans and the AFL community, with many saying the decision undermines the league\u2019s pledge to crackdown on gut-punches and off-the-ball strikes.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat a farcical result. The whole things cooked at this point. Tribunal, MRO, Appeals. Everything needs a complete overhaul in 2027,\u201d one person on X said of the decision to allow Neale to play in the big dance.<\/p>\n

Another asked: \u201cSo gut punches are back on then?\u201d<\/p>\n

But the former Lions captain was caught at the centre of more criticism over comments he made during a broadcast interview after the Lions secured their historic three-peat victory after defeating the Dockers by seven points.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve got great people around me,\u201d Neale said from the field at the MCG.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had great support for the last 12 months from a lot of people that love me and who I love very much.\u201d<\/p>\n

He also said he has had \u201cthe best eight years of my life\u201d.<\/p>\n

The remarks sparked a flurry of angry comments across social media as fans took issue with his stance given the explosive public fallout that has continued to develop after rumours emerged in December he had \u201cbetrayed\u201d his then-wife Jules.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was so upset when he got interview time, I had to look away,\u201d one person commented online.<\/p>\n

Another questioned: \u201cNo, because who has he really got left? His therapist?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLost my missus and kids, been the best eight years of my life,\u201d a third joked.<\/p>\n

Another added: \u201cHe literally cheated on his wife and punched another player and played his way out of it so he could still play the grand final.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the drama, Neale has not shied away from going public with his new girlfriend, Emma Field, as he tries to move on from the public fallout surrounding the scandal.<\/p>\n

Field, 29, threw support behind her new beau from the stands at the MCG as she sported a custom jacket emblazoned with \u201cNeale 09\u201d across the back.<\/p>\n

\"LachieLachie Neale and new girlfriend Emma Field have put on their biggest public display yet, celebrating together after the Brisbane Lions\u2019 AFL Grand Final victory. Credit: Instagram\/emfield_<\/p>\n

After the game she took to Instagram to share her first couples photo with Neale as they embraced each other in celebration from the Lions\u2019 locker room.<\/p>\n

Back in Perth, Jules delivered a not-so subtle jab to her ex as she was seen smiling for the camera as she donned a purple Fremantle scarf in an apparent show of support for Neale\u2019s former team.<\/p>\n

\"JulesJules Neale posted a photo of her posing in a Dockers scarf. Credit: Instagram<\/p>\n

Jules revealed in August she discovered Neale had been having what she described as an ongoing four-month affair with her close friend, Tess Crosley.<\/p>\n

\u201cI found out through one of the other partners at the club,\u201d she told the Pretty Sure podcast.<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess it was an ongoing, four-month affair with my best friend, behind my back.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the worst feeling in the world, because you\u2019re like, you just question everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

Just days after Jules\u2019 bombshell segment, Crosley broke her silence in an eagerly awaited sit-down interview to share her side of the story.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am doing well now, but the last 12 months was really, really chaotic and hard. I think that is sort of why I decided to come and speak today, because I think unless I actually verbalise it and talk about it, people don\u2019t really know what I went through and how challenging is really was,\u201d she told the Debrief podcast<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like I have done a lot of therapy and self work to sort of heal and I definitely made some decisions I deeply regret.\u201d<\/p>\n

When asked what the biggest misconception was in the wake of the fallout, Crosley admitted she had made mistakes but it did not define her as a person.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a few, first of all I have made some bad decisions I deeply regret but I believe that I am not a bad person,\u201d she added.<\/p>\n

\u201cI also think it is important for people to understand that I was a nobody and I was in a high-profile scandal without all the high-profile help.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you\u2019re a high-profile person you get the PR team, you get the management, you get, you know, all the social help to go through those situations, where I didn\u2019t. I had to do it on my own.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat was really challenging and confronting for not only myself, but my family and friends as well.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Lachie Neale\u2019s controversial grand final week has extended beyond the final siren as he faces fresh criticism over…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":908248,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[638,43,44,588,41,39,42,40],"class_list":["post-908247","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-headlines","tag-afl","tag-headlines","tag-news","tag-sport","tag-top-news","tag-top-stories","tag-topnews","tag-topstories"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908247","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=908247"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/908247\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/908248"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=908247"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=908247"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=908247"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}