Lachie Neale

From Snoutslouts

Glenelg Career Highlights
GFC League Player Number: 1005 GFC League Debut: Round 17, 2011 Glenelg 2011 7 games 3 goals
Other Career Highlights
AFL PLAYING CAREER Fremantle 2012 - 2018. 135 games, 67 goals 2× Doig Medal: 2016, 2018 Brisbane Lions 2019 - . 43 games, 26 goals Merrett-Murray Medal: 2019 Brownlow Medal: 2020 Leigh Matthews Trophy (AFL Players' Assoc MVP): 2020 AFL Coaches' Assoc champion player of the year: 2020 2× All-Australian team: 2019, 2020 * Stats current to end of 2020

Biographical

• Born: 24 May 1993
• Height: 177 cm
• Weight: 73 kg
• Recruited from: St Peters
• Previous Club: Kybybolite
• GFC League Debut: 2011, Round 17 vs Port @ Alberton

Guernsey Number: 42

Career

Lachie Neale grew up in the Glenelg South-East zone, playing junior football for Kybybolite alongside other future AFL players Alex Forster and Jack Trengove. Neale received a scholarship to attend St Peter's College, Adelaide, winning the Opie Medal in his final year at St Peters College.

In 2011 he played seven games for Glenelg in the league side before returning to the Under-18 team for the Grand Final. Despite Glenelg losing to Port Adelaide in the Grand Final, he gathered 40 possessions and was awarded the Alan Stewart Medal as the best player in the game. He represented South Australia at the 2011 AFL Under 18 Championships.

Neale was drafted to Fremantle with their fourth selection (number 58 overall) in the 2011 AFL draft. After a minor ankle injury in a pre-season game in 2012 he played 2 games for Swan Districts in the WAFL before his debut in Round 4. Neale was the substitute in the 2013 AFL Grand Final when Fremantle lost to Hawthorn by 15 points.

Neale won the Doig Medal as Fremantle's best and fairest in 2016 and 2018. It came as quite a surprise then for Neale to request at the end of 2018 that he transfer to Brisbane Lions. He transferred to the Lions in October 2018. He was also instrumental in his fellow Glenelg junior and close friend, Lincoln McCarthy to transfer from Geelong at the same time.

Neale thrived at his new club in 2019, winning All-Australian team selection for the first time, winning the Merrett-Murray Medal (Brisbane Lions' best and fairest) and finishing equal-third in the Brownlow Medal with 26 votes. Neale won the 2020 Brownlow Medal after polling 31 votes during the shortened regular season, including being best-on-ground in ten matches.

References

1. Glenelg Football Club

2. Wikipedia article