Watch every match of AFLW LIVE and ad-break free during play on FOX FOOTY, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.<\/a><\/p>\n WHAT’S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.<\/p>\n Collingwood then confirmed Neale had decided to exercise his free agency rights with a move to the Magpies.<\/p>\n The 33-year-old is widely expected to join the Magpies on a multimillion-dollar three-year deal during the AFL exchange period, which opens on Friday.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Club looks forward to welcoming him to the KGM Centre,\u201d a Collingwood statement read.<\/p>\n Neale played a key role in Brisbane\u2019s remarkable come-from-behind Grand Final triumph on Saturday, finishing with 20 disposals and seven score involvements. AFL 360 co-host Garry Lyon claimed the Lions wouldn\u2019t have won on Saturday without Neale, whose toughness and cleanliness was on full display in the final quarter.<\/p>\n Brisbane\u2019s third straight Grand Final win will now officially go down as Neale\u2019s final game for the club.<\/p>\n Neale talks tumultuous week ahead of GF | 02:54<\/p>\n Neale reportedly was never offered a fresh contract by Brisbane, given the financial offers from the Magpies and other rival clubs chasing him.<\/p>\n \u201cLachie has been a great player for the Brisbane Lions, and we thank him for his incredible contribution over his eight seasons,\u201d Lions list manager Dom Ambrogio said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe understand Lachie\u2019s reasons for wishing to explore free agency and we wish him all the best for the next chapter of his career.\u201d<\/p>\n It comes after a rollercoaster year for Neale, beginning with his highly public marriage break-up in early January that led to him standing down as Lions co-captain. In the lead-up to the Grand Final, Neale and the Lions fought desperately to overturn a one-game striking suspension to ensure he could face Fremantle, all while dealing with ample trade whispers.<\/p>\n Asked if the speculation around his future this year made the third flag extra emotional for him, Neale told Channel 7 after the Grand Final<\/a>: \u201cYeah it does.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve just absolutely loved my time with this footy club. They\u2019re an exceptional organisation from top to bottom and I can\u2019t thank them enough for the last eight years.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s been an incredible ride, I feel like the best eight years of my life. To finish it with three premierships is something as a kid I never would\u2019ve dreamt of.<\/p>\n Lachie Neale and the Brisbane Lions celebrate their three-peat with Brisbane and Fitzroy fans at Brunswick Oval in Fitzroy. Picture: Adam HeadSource: News Corp Australia<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m sure they\u2019re going to keep competing. It\u2019s the club that they are and the people and players they\u2019ve got around as well \u2013 I love this group.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m going to miss them very much.\u201d<\/p>\n Neale was initially drafted by Fremantle with Pick 58 in 2011. He won two best and fairests with the Dockers before moving to Brisbane after the 2018 season.<\/p>\n In his eight seasons at the Lions, Neale won another four best and fairest awards, two Brownlow Medals, earned All-Australian selection four times and played in all three Lions premiership sides.<\/p>\n Triple premiership Lion Alastair Lynch last week told <\/a>foxfooty.com.au<\/a> Neale had gone from being \u201ca very good player at Fremantle himself to becoming a Hall of Famer at Brisbane\u201d. <\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s pretty hard to get very good players out of clubs, especially clubs that aren\u2019t exactly flying, and he\u2019s made the choice to come all away across the country and start again. He is an amazing player,\u201d Lynch told foxfooty.com.au.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s been an incredible player, and he was probably half a chance for the Norm Smith Medal with just half a game of football last year. He has had an incredible impact on the footy club.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of footy\u2019s worst-kept secrets has been confirmed, with triple premiership Lion Lachie Neale telling Brisbane he wants…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":910436,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-910435","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/910435","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=910435"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/910435\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/910436"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=910435"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=910435"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=910435"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}![](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1790731458_434_poster-fallback.png\"\/)
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