Days after celebrating his third successive premiership, dual Brownlow medallist Lachie Neale has officially told Brisbane he will move to Collingwood as a free agent.
In case you thought you already knew this, let’s be clear. Neale on Wednesday morning made official the previous reports anticipating his move to Collingwood by formally telling his club he wanted to go to the Magpies.
He told the Lions of his intentions the day after he and his premiership teammates were feted at a public fan event in Brisbane.
That he had not been offered a new contract at Brisbane in his free agency year suggests the only question was which club the free agent would choose, not whether he would leave.
After a very public and acrimonious marriage break up Neale has endured a tumultuous year. Despite his wife and children moving back to Perth, Neale has opted not to ask for a move to Western Australia, fearing he would feed the circus circling his personal life. He has instead taken a three-year deal at Collingwood at slightly less than $1 million a season.
In August Neale was revealed to have toured Collingwood’s facilities ahead of playing against Carlton the next day. Reports also suggested there had been discussion of what number he would wear and so which locker he would have.
Essendon, West Coast and Collingwood all approached Neale once it became clear he felt he needed to leave Brisbane. Fremantle, the club he began his career at, said if he wanted to return they would make it happen, but that would be a tight squeeze financially for the grand finalists.
He also met with St Kilda coach Ross Lyon – his former coach at Fremantle with whom he maintains a good relationship – but they agreed a move there was not the right fit for Neale or the club.
Lions president Andrew Wellington told this masthead after Saturday’s win that, regardless of him leaving, the Lions would always value Neale not only for his three flags and two Brownlow medals but the impact of his arrival when the Lions were battling to win matches.
“It was a really important platform for turning the club around, and if you look at his performances in grand finals and big games, he has been incredible, so we have got nothing but gratitude for what he has done for our club,” Wellington said.
Neale was fortunate to play in Saturday’s grand final having initially been banned by the AFL Tribunal for an intentional strike to the stomach of Hawthorn’s Jack Ginnivan in the preliminary final, only for that decision to be watered down to a fine by the AFL Appeals Board.
The free agency period opens on Friday.
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Michael Gleeson is an award-winning senior sports writer specialising in AFL and athletics.Connect via X or email.From our partners
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