‘Really upsetting’: Abbey Holmes addresses post-game kiss controversy with Lachie Neale

AFL commentator Abbey Holmes has broken her silence over a smooching saga with Lachie Neale, saying the innocuous kiss-on-the-cheek had been “blown out of proportion” by an out of touch reporter.

AFL commentator Abbey Holmes says Lachie Neale’s wife Julie has reached out to support her following a kissing controversy.

Channel 7 star Holmes, and Brisbane co-captain Neale, are the central players in a smooching saga that erupted after an innocuous kiss-on-the-cheek following a Lions’ win against the Western Bulldogs last week.

Abbey Holmes and Lachie Neale have found themselves the centre of a saga following a post-match kiss-on-the-cheek. Picture: Channel 7

Holmes told the LiSTNR Footy Talk podcast, which aired on Monday, she was “upset” by a column in The Age, published a week after the kiss, which blew the incident “out of proportion”.

“I don’t want to spend too much time on it because, to me, it is not a story,” Holmes said.

“This isn’t the first time that a player who I’ve got a great relationship has given me a hug or given me a kiss. I don’t want my friends to feel uncomfortable in how they going to greet me or say goodbye to me. That’s not fair. I just feel as though that article was taken out of proportion massively.”

Abbey Holmes has hit back at allegations a post-game kiss “crossed a boundary”. Picture: Getty Images

Holmes, a former AFLW player, said Neale’s wife, Jules, had checked in to ask if she was OK.

“Jules Neale … sent me a message this morning saying, ‘I hope you’re okay — this is ridiculous,’” Holmes said. “I’m like, ‘Mate, I know. Lachie’s a friend of mine.’”

Holmes added: “It’s really frustrating for me. Lachie is a good friend of mine, so that’s just something that you do – you greet your friends. Whether that’s a hug or a kiss on the cheek. The fact that this has been blown up out of proportion to the actual incident itself. It’s really upsetting for me.

“Kate Halfpenny wrote the article. But does she know my relationship with Lachie? Does she know that he’s a good friend of mine? If she had have done her due diligence ahead of writing that article, I think she might feel a little bit differently and might not have actually written it in the first place.

“I’ve worked so hard over such a long period of time now to build relationships, to build trust, to build rapport with these players and coaches and make them feel like they are in a really safe space when they’re with me. And that that’s what probably upset me the most.”

Lachie Neale with wife Jules before his 250th match in April this year. Picture: AFL Photos via Getty Images

Abbey Holmes with husband Keegan Brooksby at their picturesque wedding in the Northern Territory last year. Picture: @abbeycholmes @lillyatdawn via Instagram

Since the kiss, some commentators labelled the interaction as “inappropriate” and claimed Neal crossed a line.

However, on Monday, Neale told Nine’s Today: “The fact that it’s been brought up a week later is a little bit strange. It’s come as a bit of a surprise.”

AFL great Leigh Matthews was not impressed by the incident.

“It is a first,” Matthews said on 3AW radio. “I’ve never seen it before. That’s why we’re talking about it. It’s quite an unusual one”