AFL grand final: Brisbane Lions Lachie Neale banned for decider against former club Fremantle Dockers

Lachie Neale has been sensationally banned from Saturday’s grand final clash against his old club, with the Brisbane star set to head to the tribunal to dispute the ruling.

Neale was hit with a one-match ban for an off-the-ball strike on Hawthorn’s Jack Ginnivan late in the first quarter of the preliminary final.

WATCH THE INCIDENT IN THE PLAYER ABOVE

After Ginnivan finished engaging in a long wrestle with a Brisbane’s Eric Hipwood, Neale came past used his left arm to hit Ginnivan in the stomach area, causing the Hawk to fall to the ground.

The decision was assessed by Match Review Officer Michael Christian as intentional with body contact and medium impact, resulting in a one-match ban.

The call will likely set up a blockbuster tribunal hearing this week as the two-time reigning premiers look to get the dual Brownlow medallist freed to play.

A suspension would be a massive blow for the Lions and Neale, with the star veteran looming large in Brisbane’s midfield in his likely final game for the club.

Neale leads his team for disposals, contested possessions and clearances this year, having played every game this season. He had nine clearances among 26 touches in the prelim win over Hawthorn.

While the Lions will have until Monday morning to decide whether they will challenge the ban, they are almost certainly set to head to the tribunal in an attempt to get the veteran cleared.

Neale appears to face a significant challenge in getting the ban overturned. Under the AFL’s latest match review guidelines, intentional strikes to the stomach are graded as medium rather than low impact.

Brisbane may look to argue that Neale’s exemplary on-field record “constitutes exceptional and compelling circumstances”, per AFL regulations, with the 320-gamer having never missed a match through suspension.

Bookmakers responded to the news by winding in the Dockers to a $2.18 chance of victory, after they had been as long as $2.40 prospects soon after the grand final match-up was confirmed.

Neale is the sole active AFL player from Fremantle’s 2013 grand final side, having started as the Dockers’ substitute as a 20-year-old.

He was one of the biggest stories in Brisbane’s flag win last year, starting as the substitute after being passed fit to play following a calf injury and playing a key role in the victory.

Neale earlier this year exited his role as Lions captain amid a public separation from wife Jules.

The 33-year-old is expected to head to Collingwood at season’s end.

If his tribunal hearing is unsuccessful, Neale will join the likes of North Melbourne’s Jason McCartney (1999), Collingwood duo Jason Cloke and Anthony Rocca (2002 & 2003) and West Coast’s Andrew Gaff (2018) in missing AFL grand finals while being suspended.