Brisbane Lions great Simon Black backs Lachie Neale to continue playing despite heel problem

Lions star Lachie Neale will get through the pain of a heel problem the “best” he can in Brisbane’s AFL finals journey.

Lions legend Simon Black has backed Brisbane talisman Lachie Neale to overcome the ongoing pain of a heel problem and play against Geelong in Saturday’s AFL preliminary final, and “with a bit of luck”, the following weekend’s decider.

Neale was wearing a moon boot the day after the Lions’ five-point win over the GWS Giants last Saturday night and barely trained on Tuesday at Springfield.

However, the two-time Brownlow medallist is expected to increase his training workload at a closed session on Thursday before taking on the Cats this weekend at the MCG, perhaps with the aid of a painkilling injection.

“I don’t know what’s going on with his foot but it would be difficult for him,” Brisbane midfield great Black said.

“He’s been dealing with it for several weeks, so in some ways he’s getting used to it, but whether it’s getting worse each time is the interesting thing.

“He’s obviously doing well to be able to manage it week-to-week, so as long as it’s not getting too much worse, there’s only two games to go – with a bit of luck.”

Black, who won three premierships with the Lions as well as Brownlow and North Smith medals, said most players at this stage of the season were carrying “varying degrees of soreness” into matches.

Prelim Week buzz 🐝 pic.twitter.com/TAxXxEFVbl

— Brisbane Lions (@brisbanelions) September 17, 2024

“At this time of the year, you’ve got a lot of guys going into games with sore spots. That’s just the nature of the sport,” he said.

“You’ve just got to try to get through it the best you can. These big games you don’t want to miss out on. You do everything you can to get up for them.”

Black said Neale being tagged and playing with a heel problem had allowed other players to “step up” in Brisbane’s engine room.

“It takes a midfield brigade. It doesn’t just take one player, it takes everyone to be able to contribute, particularly in big finals, and often in big finals, if one of the better players like Neale is getting tagged, the defining ability of being able to win is on the back of other guys being able to step up and play a bigger role than they normally would,” Black said.

The perfect example of that was 20-year-old Will Ashcroft’s memorable display in helping Brisbane overcome 44-point third-quarter deficit to beat the Giants at Engie Stadium.

“The depth of the Lions will give ‘Fages’ (coach Chris Fagan) great confidence,” Black said.

“With putting Will through the middle more regularly in the past couple of weeks, he’s stepped up to the mark, so that’s great.

“(Josh) Dunkley’s always so consistent, and Hugh (McCluggage) is in there as well.

“You need more than just one or two players. You need a bunch of guys to contribute in the finals in the middle of the ground.”

Black was confident the Lions could lift again in the preliminary final after the emotional high of last Saturday’s remarkable fightback.

“That was no doubt one of the best wins in the club’s history,” he said.

“Now they need the mental resilience to be able to move on from that and prepare.

“They’re professional athletes, so that’s what they’ve got to be able to do, and I expect them to do that on Saturday.

“If they can get over the Cats this weekend, anything’s possible.”

Originally published as Brisbane Lions great Simon Black backs Lachie Neale to continue playing despite heel problem